Reality
by Evil-Ekat
Summary: After waking up from a coma, Mabel's memories of the past three months are gone. She finds that her brother is acting strange, not telling her something, while Bill has been doing the opposite. Unable to pick a side, and on the brink of loosing what little sanity she can cling to. She makes like the journals and trusts no one. But how long can it last? Border-line M.
1. Waking Up

**Ah yes, we begin a new story, a dark twist on life known as reality. Get ready for plot twists galore people! Also, I did cut this chapter short for the preview I had up. Unless I chop the 3000+ word chapters into little blocks of 1000, this story would be very long and dragged out. This story is not an AU, as we will find out later why. But for now, bear with me (did somebody say, bear?) No, no one did Bear-o. One final thing, please note the doctor and nurse will never reappear in the story again, they're just a strange coincidence. If you don't figure out what I'm talking about by the end, ignore this last bit.**

**Please keep in mind this will not be updated until "Shattered Star" is finished, so if we're lucky, sometime around the middle of May.**

**Rating T**

**Category: Drama/Hurt/Comfort/Romance/Family/Mystery/Angst**

**Pairing: Yes, glorious, glorious Mabill.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

It was impossible, inconceivable, yet it happened all the same. They had lost. Who knew what fates had lay in their hands? Their families? The worlds? Or something larger all together? Well, it did not matter because they had lost. Failed in a blaze of flying colours and fire.

The demon had shown up from nowhere and struck without warning. Leaving their battle ground of the Mystery Shack basement, he had chased them through the forest, not resting for a second. Dipper had collapsed from exhaustion, and she struggled through the woods. Only to find she had come to an inevitable dead end. Mabel stood on the edge of a cliff that over looked the canyon Gravity Falls was situated in.

It was an amazing panorama, trees glinting gold and red in the fall colours. The sky was a clear blue and cloudless against steely-grey snow-capped mountain. The people in the town would be looking up at the skies, commenting on how beautiful the autumn day was. All completely oblivious to what was about to transpire.

The young woman held onto her twin brother in a near-death grip. Everything had unfolded in a startlingly familiar fashion. So close did it mimic their last stand with Gideon over seven years ago, she couldn't help but feel that same deep-rooted terror. But this time, there was no last minute heroics, there was no small fluke of chance, and there was no luck smiling down on them. She reflected all this as tears welled in her eyes.

Nothing was there to save the twins as they took their last ever stand against the dream-demon.

"It's been fun kiddies, but play time's over and I have a few other things to take care of."

He floated over to the girl and raised his arms. And eerie blue glow surrounded her and it forced her apart from her bloodied and unconscious brother. The boy rolled dangerously close to the ledge. Mabel screamed, trying to reach him, but her attention was forced away from Dipper and into the demon's frigid dark one. Another wave of fear washed over her as he began to speak in a dangerously soft tone.

"Even when in mortal peril, you're still more worried about what will happen to the dead body of your brother dearest than what I'm going to do to you."

Knowing what he wanted to hear her say, she quickly stuttered;

"W-what are you g-going to d-do?"

The demon batted a hand and said impossibly nonchalantly;

"Oh, I'm just going to kill you."

The hold on her released. Before her feet could even touch the ground, his scrawny black arms caught her around the throat. She was aware of a strange buzzing sensation spreading though his hands before the demon quickly jerked his thumbs, twisting her neck. Death did not come quickly. He let go of her now bruised and twisted neck. She promptly fell to the ground and her knees buckled, sending her sprawling onto her back.

Everything darkened a moment before becoming harshly bright again. She gasped for air, feeling a leaden weight spread through her lungs. As the life slowly ebbed away from her, she was aware of a deeper pain setting in on her neck and head. Again things became dark and indistinguished.

"Pain or strangulation? I wonder which you'll succumb to first to first? Hah! It doesn't matter because your suffering has just begun. Either way I'll be seeing you in Hell!"

The last thing she heard was him cackling as he repeated the line, pleased with the poetry in what he had said.

_I'll see you in hell Shooting Star..."_

_"See you..."_

_"Hell..."_

_"Hell..."_

_"Hell..."_

_"Shooting Star..."_

_"Shooting Star..."_

_"Shooting Star..."_

* * *

"Shooting Star! Quick! Nurse! She's waking up!"

Mabel blinked, confused. She heard stirring and voices around her, ones that were unfamiliar to her. She felt a sharp prick in her arm, and her vision became more clear. Bland silvers and grey that attempted to look cheery clearly stated that she was in a hospital, there were stacks of cards on a table next to her, and a window to her right showed a beautiful view of a brick wall.

Two figures stood over her. The first one, she recognized right away as her doctor, but the other one seemed to be a stranger.

He was clearly handsome, with sharp features and dirty blond hair that partially covered soft grey-blue eyes, it reminded her of someone, but who? Something about the expression he wore all seemed familiar. The sense of dread she had felt before filed the young woman.

"What are you doing here?!" She shrieked.

The two men exchanged a look of worry and began a rapid exchange that she only caught snippets of.

"She doesn't-"

"-She might have-"

"Short term?"

"You imagine things when you're comatose-"

"-I know that"

"-Only for the past few months."

"What's going on? Where's my brother?! Why are you here Bill?!"

The doctor pulled out a pen, and held began to scrawl something down on a paper.

"Can you tell us what you remember? Basic things first?"

Mabel recited her name, her address, listed her living family members and favourites of everything. Everything was clear to her, except for a block of nothing the doctor said was over three months ago. Panic began to rise in her as she pieced in what had happened to her. Her fears were assuaged for the moment Dipper rushed into the room, and gasped as he saw his comatose sister was awake. Her brother was about to say something to her, when he noticed who was standing next to the doctor.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her." The young man said quietly, his expression hardening.

Sensing the tension that had set in , the doctor backed out of the room with a hasty;

"'I'll just leave you guys to talk for a while."

"Well then I didn't hear you." The demon replied with equal calmness.

"Is anyone going to fill me in on what's happening?" Mabel asked, crossing her arms over the thin hospital gown she was wearing.

Both men began to talk at once, pausing at the same time to say;

"I'll tell her. No, I'll tell her! Stop talking when I am! I said-"

"The. Ex-pla-na-tion." She stretched.

The both turned a little red, but Dipper beat him to the punch.

"Well, you've been out for three months now. We were beginning to loose hope for you Mabel."

"What happened to me?"

"_He _happened to you." Dipper snarled, pointing his chin at the demon.

Bill looked startled by the accusation and made a move to say something, but Mabel asked her brother again;

"Where's Stan?"

This quieted her twin.

"Well you know how he was like before you, you know."

She gasped.

"He's not-"

"No! He's fine, physically. But after you checked out, he lost it. There wasn't anything I could do." His voice broke.

"You put him in an old people's home?! Dipper Stan hates people his age! And in general!" She yelled.

"Well blame _him _for that!" He indicated at the demon again.

The demon narrowed his eyes at this and took a shuddering breath, determined not to interrupt him.

Mabel ran a few fingers through her hair which was surprisingly clean and tangle free. Something snagged on her hair, and she withdrew her hand. On her ring finger, a beautiful gold ring resided, inlaid with a small pearl shaped like a rose.

But before she could study it farther, another flash of gold caught her attention. Resting on the same finger of the blond's hand was also a ring, clearly a companion piece to hers. The feeling of security she had felt as her brother came, vanished.

Both of them noticed the petrified look on her face as her eyes darted between her ring and the demon's. Bill calmly took her hand and gently pulled off the ring.

"I'm leaving." He said pocketing the ring. His gaze softened a little as he face the young woman. "I don't know what you though I did while you were out, but I'm upset you're afraid of me. I hope you start to feel better soon. The doctor says that your memory should be restored after a few days or so. You already have my number if you ever decide that-"

He trailed off at the end as he stalked out if the room, leaving the twins in an eerie silence. Just then, a nurse ushered Dipper out of the room, insisting that his sister needed to rest. They talked amiably for a little while, but the responses felt strange, as if they weren't hers. It was only a small case of amnesia, but it was weird. The elderly nurse distracted Mabel from her thoughts as she said;

"It must be overwhelming to wake up like this, and then your brother and fiancé vying for your attention. I wonder if that's why they don't get along? Maybe he's just being the protective brother. He is quite a looker you know, and what a sweetheart too!"

Mabel gaged on the juice the nurse insisted she should drink, and not because if the taste.

"Come on dearie, the juice is not that bad!"

"Bill, is a sweetheart? " She asked skeptically.

"Yes indeed. You should have seen him. That young man visited you every day, he'd brush your hair, argue with the doctors treating you, and when he though I was not paying attention, talked to you. If only you could hear him, he was always going on about how he wondered when you were going to wake up and how everyone missed you. A real teddy bear."

Mabel took this all in with surprise. What sort of twisted reality had she landed herself in?

* * *

At first, the young woman was hesitant to fall back asleep. What if she fell back into another coma? The nurse had assured her that it was not possible, and that despite being in a coma, she would still need her rest before she could do anything else. Eventually, she tossed and turned enough in the rock solid hospital bed to fall into a dreamless sleep.

Stretching and yawning the next morning, Mabel had to admit that she felt more alert. But as she started to recall the previous days events, she began to feel a little anxious. How far back had she begun to imagine things? Why had it taken her so long to wake up? Was there not a dead line where doctors cut the life support if the patient had not woken up? Why had both her brother, and (she shuddered a little) fiancé, so tricky about avoiding the topics she wanted to know most about?

These patches of white nothing seemed eerie at first, like a passing storm. But unlike a storm, these did not pass, they remained empty and foreboding. No amount of recalling things, small details and gradually larger, helped remove the mental barrier.

"Miss Pines?" A voice asked, cutting into her fears.

The doctor, Dr. Hirsch walked into the room holding a clipboard. Looking over his glasses at her, the elderly man began;

"Now that you have had some rest, would you be interested in your diagnosis?"

She nodded. Flipping through a few notes, he continued;

"It seems that the left side of your head has suffered some trauma. Bruising and minor concussions were found near the crown and around the base of your head."

"So I bashed it somehow and lost my memory in the process?" She questioned, feeling the still tender spots on her scalp.

The doctor shook his head with a sigh.

"Now this, miss Pines, is the confusing part. While it seems you did suffer head trauma, it was not enough to block off your memories, _or _launch you into a comatose state. Your medial temporal lobe has suffered no damage at all."

"But then how-"

" Now _that, _is the question. I have come to the conclusion that some sort of emotional and or psychological trauma has resulted in this. From my understanding, you have _Lacunar amnesia,_ the inability to recall certain events due to some horrific events. What you may find traumatic or stressful all depends on you. Probably, only one occurrence, what ever launched you into a coma. Most likely, your brain was so over loaded with what ever happened, and wished to shut out the world. And so it did. Along with putting you to sleep, your brain cut off anything too directly related with it. Thus, your blank spot of three months."

She took this all in, mulling it over. It made sense yes, but it was frightening all the same. If Dipper had not told her what had happened here, in the open ears of all the workers, it most- no certainly, had something to do with Gravity Falls. The brunette swallowed painfully, the supposed memory of her death clear as day.

"So, what is it you prescribe?"

Shuffling through a few more notes, the doctor cleared his throat.

"Talking things out with a psychiatrist, painkillers, and taking advantage of your boyfriend's sweetness."

Despite not having anything to drink this time, she still choked.

"Why does every one keep saying that B- he's my boyfriend?"

He raised a greying eyebrow, amused.

"Because he is. Why is it so hard to believe? What memories do you have of him?"

"I remember him from when I was younger, twelve to nineteen or so." She began hesitantly.

"And how would you describe him then?"

How _would _she describe the same demon who was willing to work with their foes, and haunt them day to night?

"Perhaps, you have heard stories of people imaging things, dreaming vividly while in a deep sleep. Hallucinations so realistic, you start to truly think that your are experiencing them?"

"Yes, I know what you are telling me. I can, remeber-" She paused at the somewhat inappropriate context of the word. "He was pure evil in what I had experienced, the last thing I saw before waking up was him killing me, telling me that he would see me in hell. It all felt so real..."

She broke off into sobs, her body shaking violently as sobs wracked her body. Mabel covered her face embarrassed, trying to stifle the cries. The doctor patted her back soothingly until she was able to calm down.

"Shhh. Miss Pines, I assure you that there is a one hundred percent chance of recovery for you. All those things will become little more than distant memories. Reality will come back to you soon enough."

"Are you sure?"

"Posi-"

Just then, the nurse whom Mabel had been talking with earlier strode into the to her surprise, holding both Dipper and Bill by the ear as if they were two children who had gotten into a fight, and not grown men. The doctor raised an eyebrow at the two bickering, silently asking the nurse why there were here.

"Sorry sir but-"

"Oh really?!"

"-I'll tell her that-"

"You wouldn't dare-"

"Ha ha, very punny-"

"They've been fighting non stop. At this rate-"

"You can't hide the tru-"

"Yes I can-

"Absolutely not!"

"They'll wake up anyone who _is _in a coma. So I suggest _you, Alex _being the head of the ward, deal with these two children. "

This caught the attention of both the men;

"Hey! I'm not a kid! Maybe he is but I just want to-"

"You dare call _me _a child?!"

"Thanks Ariel, I'll deal with them."

"You can't just play this opportunity-

"I'll do what I have to-"

"-It's too cruel! She's your sis-"

"Hey! You two! Stop it!" The doctor said, snapping his fingers in their faces.

They stopped their seemingly childish arguing and looked around confused. They had been so absorbed in their debate, neither had noticed the nurse had dragged them into the room. Tapping his foot, he asked;

"Care to explain?"

"Yes. I would actually." Bill hissed venomously.

Any pretense of childish fighting disappeared. Through the silence, every thing darkened a shade in tone. Dipper glowered a little as he began to speak.

_"He wouldn't dare!"_

"Well, I came her to tell my girlfr- Well, I came here to tell her that her brother has been-"

_"Oh he would! That slimy- He'd dare tell her- Well, I may as well use my end of the deal if I'm to get anywhere."_

"A promissum est a promissum." He uttered softly.

No one seemed to hear this but the demon. A scowl of pure loathing made it's way across his features as he head the Latin phrase.

"You know what? Never mind, I guess it was sort of childish. No _hard _feelings _right _Pine Tree?" He asked, straining his words.

The young man smirked a little, he had told the truth on his part. This would solve any problems nicely should the demon become too big for his boots again. He watched with satisfaction as he practically marched out of the room, as if not in control of his legs.

Mabel watched this all confused, while the doctor and nurse shook their heads in wonder.

"Crazy that one is Alex. Did you know he-"

"Ariel. As you twin an co-worker, you think I wouldn't notice? Unlike your six hundred and eighteen other boyfriends, he's not just infatuated. He's in l-"

Dipper cleared his throat, catching the two worker's attention.

"So can she check out now?" He asked.

"Yes, as long as she takes something the pain and talks it out with a psychologist, she's free to go."

_"She? Do I even have a say in this?" _The brunette wondered.

The elderly doctor turned to her and smiled.

"Well miss Pines, it looks like you're heading right back home to Gravity Falls!"

_**May, 2014**_


	2. A Walk in the Woods

**It seems that "Shattered Star." decided to finish it's self earlier than planned. Maybe Blendin' Blandin' was hanging around...**

**Thanks to Midnights Haze for reminding me to update this like I said I would, even if you're not aware you did.**

**I just realized you're probably wondering about the update schedule for this. Just to make this story title even more fitting, it's radom with a twist of fate. I have a very complicated system set up that consists of rolling two dice. What ever the number I rolled is, the number of days till updating. Like life, it's random and unpredictable. Heeehee, nice and fitting.**

**Special thanks to myself for the cover photo. Me, you're the best me to ever exist! If that makes any grammatical sense...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Mabel looked out at the passing forest scenery as she and Dipper continued to drive farther north. The woods looked the same as ever. Deep and mysterious, the trees towered over everything, casting shadows. The young woman smiled as a herd of deer watched the car (Stan's old maroon El Diablo.) pass by.

"We'll be there in a few minutes. " Said Dipper.

The brunette merely nodded to show that she heard. She was trying to concentrate on what she remembered with the exercises the doctors have provided for her. Find one thing, and recount everything she could recal about it.

_"Waddles. My pet pig. We met when I was twelve at Stan's faulty carnival. He weighed fifteen pounds when I got him. Dipper went back in time so I could keep him." _She began to recite to herself, _"Speaking of which-"_

"Dipper what happened to Waddles?"

"Oh he's fine." The boy said nonchalantly, "I would have brought him along, but apparently it's not sanitary to bring pigs into a hospital."

She giggled a little at this, and Dipper smiled too, glad his sister was beginning to return a little to her sunny self. A few minutes later, they pulled up the gravel driveway. She took a deep breath and looked up at the shack. It seemed just as she had remembered.

The capital "S" on the sign was still fallen off, and the roof shingles were loose. Multiple faded signs instructed tourists what to buy, when the next tours were, and how many refunds (none) customers could receive. The building was still weathered and splintery, with grass growing in the eaves troughs.

"Ack! Stop eating my pants!" Dipper snapped, shaking the goat of his leg.

"Hey Gompers," Mabel greeted, giving the goat a few cautionary pats, unsure of how friendly he was.

"Baaa." The goat bleated contentedly.

Dipper looked at his sister and the goat, slightly confused.

"That's strange. I haven't seen him around for a while now. Almost around the same time you..." He trailed off.

But Mabel didn't hear him. She was too busy walking around, exploring the area around the shack with the brown goat following her. So far, it only seemed like a few people were different. Perhaps it was because she already had enough memories of what it was like before?

"I'll just head inside, do you want to stay out?"

"Maybe I'll take Waddles later, but there's something I wanted to know."

"What exactly happened to you?" The young man asked.

"Yes."

Dipper sighed and led her into the shack. One the inside it was the same too, but from what she could tell, there was only one big difference. The vending machine was not against it's usual wall in the gift shop. In it's place a large steel door that was sealed shut, and appeared to only open from the other side. Mabel was interested in what could be behind there, but she wanted to know more about what had landed her in a coma.

Her brother pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door to Stan's cluttered office. Mabel was pleased to see that papers were still strewn everywhere, and it retained it's smell off coffee. She pulled out a chair and Dipper sat behind what was once Stan's desk. This only served to make her feel like she was talking with a stranger than her brother.

Tapping his fingers on the desk, Dipper muttered;

"Where to begin, where to begin?"

"What were we doing three months ago?" She asked expectantly.

The young man though something over for a moment, wondering what he should tell his sister.

"You remember getting your degrees and accepting the job at the Gravity Falls art museum right?"

She nodded.

"Then we'll start there. You accepted the job this past spring to get your experience before moving up, and because Stan's health was wavering. From what you had told me, everything was going fine for you. After a while, you said Stan seemed to be getting worse, but in the way that he was more paranoid. So I came up to the falls, and hung around with you and Stan."

Dipper stopped talking here, unsure of what to tell her next.

"Mabel. Do you remember the blue prints that were in all the journals?" He asked hesitantly.

"The ones for that portal? " She asked uncertainty.

"Yes."

"Don't tell me you've been building one!"

He leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder. Calmly, he explained;

"Stan had been building one for years now, and in his old age, he asked me to help. It was why he had taken the journals after Gideon was arrested, and we never saw them again. In the meantime, _he _was hanging around with you. I disagreed with having him around, something didn't seem right about it all. You insisted that he had changed and so I lived with it for a while. I'll admit we did fight from time to time, and with Stan too." He admitted a little guiltily.

"One day you came home and said you were engaged. Stan and I tried to convince you that something was fishy with it all, that he had tricked you or manipulated your mind in some way. You believed otherwise." He sighed again.

"Mabel, I hate to say I told you so, but..." Dipped trailed off, looking down into his lap.

Mabel took this all in, trying to make the connections. His recount of what happened didn't restore anything or form connections in her brain. Of course, things did not work that way, yet she could not help but be dissapointed. Dipper seemed to guess what she was thinking because he said;

"I'm sorry if it doesn't seem to make sense to you at the moment. I don't know how he sent you through enough trauma to send you into shock. But I'm sorry for not stopping him sooner, and preventing this all from happening."

He was blinking as if trying not to cry as he said this. Mabel felt a small pang, knowing how hard it must have been for her brother and great uncle to go through this all for three whole months. Naturally, she couldn't _not _forgive them.

"Dipper you didn't seriously think I would-"

"I didn't know Mabel, I just didn't know. And then there's the whole issue with Stan, and Bill's out there somewhere. I don't know what he's been trying to do, but I think he's ready to try something again."

"Dipper, " She began, " Trust me, I can hardly see myself in a relationship with that creep. There's no possible way we could have actually, blaa, you know. Besides, what are the odds he'll be back?"

"Ohhh, I wouldn't be so sure." He said darkly, "He's one persistent demon."

"Well, I need a little time to think this all over, maybe even something will come back to me. I'm going to take Waddles out, maybe walk around town a little. "

"Alright, I guess you do need to get your strength back after all." Before he could even finish, she ran out of the room.

"Just be back at a reasonable time!" He called after her.

With a sigh, he spun around in the chair. When he turned a full circle, Bill was sitting in the other chair. Startled, Dipper fell out of his.

"Ack! What are you doing back here Bill?" He asked, rubbing his head.

"What did you tell her?" The demon asked.

Restoring his usual demeanor, the young man smoothly replied;

"You don't know?"

"I'm not the type to eaves drop Pine Tree."

"I only told her what she needed to know."

"You know, I may not be a liar, but I'm an expert at twisting my words. And I happen to know, that's the nice way of saying _you lied_." He hissed.

"Don't we have a deal?"

"I _wish _you would stop reminding me about that."

"What, the fact that I tricked you into making an honest deal?"

"All my deals are honest. People just forget to... close any loops if you will. Except for the one around their neck in the end if you know what I mean. I guess you could say people don't really like to _hang _around with me. Hah! Get it? Hang?!"

The demon laughed at his own play on words, but Dipper merely said;

"First off, that pun was horrible. Second, you never answered my question."

"I came here because I wanted to know what you told Mabel. And I'm still waiting on your answer too."

Dipper crossed his arms and glared at him.

"I told her enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Look. It doesn't matter what I told her. She's not your little Shooting Star anymore Bill. So stay away from my sister."

He spun around in the chair again for the sake of it. When he turned back to the spot where the demon was once sitting, he was gone.

* * *

Mabel gave Waddles a few more pats before continuing to head off the property. The pig had gone crazy with joy when he saw her, squealing and giving the young woman a few friendly headbutts. Waddles continued to walk in front of her, glancing back to make sure that Mabel was still behind him.

Meanwhile, she stared off into the summer sky. But this only resulted in her crashing into someone.

"Mabel?" A familiar voice asked.

The man appeared to be around her age, with rounded features and freckles. He was pale, but not in a sickly way, and his short wispy hair was almost white. It took the young woman a moment, but she realized who it was with a start.

"Gideon? What are you doing here?! Why aren't you in jail?!" The brunette shrieked.

Rubbing his head a little as he stood up, Gideon looked at her confused.

"Dipper told me you had lost some of your memory, but not how much."

Cautiously, she allowed him to help her off the ground and she explained;

"I don't remember the three months leading up to being hospitalized, and I have another three months of what dreamed up when I was out, leaving me with a grand total of six months."

He fraudulent psychic gasped at this.

"Oh I'm so sorry! What did the doctor say?"

She looked at him a little uneasily, wondering why he was out of jail, not speaking about his latest evil plan, and being civil.

"He said it will all come back to me in a week or two."

"I got out on parole a few months ago." He sighed, "Can I explain something too you?"

"S-sure."

"Ya' know how I had two. Well, I got it from my father. He wanted me ta' take over his goal of getting revenge on your great-uncle by using that book. He was obsessed with it. But he said he was getting too old, and it would be my job sooner or later. I was still very young at the time, five, six or so. I didn't want ta' hurt someone who I had never even met before. He told me I would do it, or else." He said, looking at his feet.

"Between my shows and tracking down Stan, the stress got to me, I got lost in making my father happy. I'm ashamed to say I became just as obsessed as him. And then, you came along. Mabel Pines you were a little ray of sunshine in my lil' old life. Outside of my fans, people typically weren't nice for me. I fell for you hard and like father, like son I guess. Your brother has, but there's no way I could expect ya' ta' forgive me for all I've done. But it's worth a shot. I'm sorry for- Hey stop it!"

Looking down, Mabel saw that both Gompers and Waddles were chewing on his pant legs. Mabel picked up her pig and tried to shoo away the goat.

"Scat! Crazy goat!"

Gompers gave a baaa of disapproval before trotting off.

"Strange, that's twice in one day."

Attempting to fix his pants, Gideon replied;

"Well, I'd love ta' stay and chat, but your brother is expecting me."

"What are you guys doing?" She asked curiously.

Gideon ran a hand through his now short hair and asked;

"Do you know what's in the shack's basement?"

"You're working on it with him?!"

"Yes. And now I really need to get going! Talk to you later!"

_"I hope not." _

She walked as he jogged off and let himself into the gift shop entrance. Mabel shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Could so much really change in a few months? Something about his story seemed a bit strange. As if it was rushed and didn't add up too well. It seemed a little weak to her, almost lame. Like something out of a book or movie. Not only that, this meant Dipper had been keeping things from her. Why would have have neglected to tell her, his own sister, something so crucial?

_"Just a simple; Oh yea, Gideon's not as bad as we really thought! Wouldn't hurt!" _She thought to herself.

Mabel felt a little guilty at this. Maybe he head simply just forgotten, or didn't know for sure whether or not she could take something that drastic. They had always been honest with each other, why would he even start lying now?

The young woman set Waddles back on the ground and allowed him to lead her to town. Their walk was fairly uneventful with one exception. Pacifica walked up to them and began to talk.

"Hey Mabel, hey Waddles." She paused to give the pig a scratch behind the ear, "Dipper told me you had gotten out of the hospital."

"Did he tell you I'm missing six months worth of memories too?"

"Oh no! I'm sorry! Well, I need to get going now, town hall needs me! I'll catch you later!"

She watched dumbstruck as she walked off. She and Pacifica _had _made amends when they were younger, but they were never on speaking terms. The young woman had never seen the diva act well, so normal. Even when they had given up their rivalry, Pacifica kept her slightly snobbish ways. Waddles had let her pet him sans pant chewing too.

Every minute she spent here seemed to reveal a new surprise. She could tell why Dipper hadn't told her about all this, there was no way she would have ever believed him. The young woman felt relieved at this. She did not want to think that her brother could not be trusted.

She enjoyed the rest of her stroll through town, nodding and waving at all the familiar faces. Every one seemed to know how what had happened to her, reminding the brunette how quickly news in the small town traveled.

The sun was starting to set, and Mabel remembered she should probably head back before dark.

"Come on Waddles!" She called to her pig.

"Oink!" He squealed in agreement.

The little pig trotted up to her, giving his owner an almost content look. She gave him another pat on the head, knowing that he must have been lonely in her absence. They walked along the side of the road, not bothering to watch for cars. In Gravity Falls, you were more likely to run into a person while looking for cars, than you were not.

The continued at a leisurely pace as the paved road below them turned into the gritty dirt one. Now that there was no one to talk to, Mabel tried to remember at least something.

_"Great Uncle, Grunkle Stan. He told us to call him that because time is money and it's faster to say grunkle. We've been coming to Gravity Falls to visit him for the past nine years. This past spring, he was getting sick so I decided to stay with him. I helped around the house, and when I wasn't at work, I, I..."_

She rubbed her temples trying to remember. Just then something came to her. A person, definitely a male, whispering. To her? No, as if she was listening to a conversation she shouldn't have been. She was beginning to make out what he was saying.

_"I know I don't have any right ta' say this Dipper as I'm not even family, but I don't think that she should be with him. She's your sister, who knows what could happen ta'her. For all we know, he's trying ta' get closer to us and our work."_

_"Oh no, I agree with you, I agree. But nothing I say will persuade her! She's too stubborn! You know, perhaps she'd be better of with some like y-"_

Mabel broke off from her memories as she heard Waddles give a squeal before running off.

"Wait! Waddles come back!" She yelled, chasing after her pig.

But he didn't stop, the pig continued to run and squeal, running off the road and into the forest. Mabel knew it was foolish to run off into a forest that went on for hundreds of kilometers and was filled with supernatural creatures, but that was her pig! She followed the sound of his squealing, wondering what she could have possibly gotten herself into.

* * *

Huffing and puffing thirty minutes later, the young woman had caught up to Waddles. She had found him merely sitting in a clearing, calm as ever. There was no demonic circle around it or some sort of trap waiting for her, the pig just trotted over before heading back in the direction she had come.

Against her better judgment, she let him lead her around in the forest. Knowing Gravity Falls, she would be ambushed at any moment. But nothing leapt out at her, there was no feeling of being stalked. Even as it grew darker, it felt like a calm stroll.

So calm indeed, she found herself wondering back to the memory. Both of the voices were dark, harsh whispers. Something was off putting about it, one if them had been talking about "your sister." Was that her? But, they both seemed unlike her brother, as if they were making a deal or compromise having to do with her. Dipper would never do something drastic as that without her consent though. As she thought this, Mabel felt her trust for him fray.

_"Nonsense Mabel! You're being crazy and paranoid! You have bigger things to worry about, like how you'll get out of this forest! You've always been close to Dipper, and there's no point in fussing over it now!"_

Soon enough she could make out the glittery signs and lights of the Mystery Shack.

"Waddles what's up with you?"

The pig gave an oink, looking back at his owner. Maybe he was a little mad at her for leaving? How was she supposed to explain to the pig why she was gone? He speed up, walking a little farther ahead of Mabel. She followed him through some bushes and found herself on the Mystery Shack field. Incredible, what were the odds?

"Hey little pig." A voice said softly, "Where there's smoke, there's fire. Do you know where Mabel is? I need to talk to her about something. "

She felt her breath breeze as she recognized the voice of Bill. Startled, she stood with her back against one of the trees hoping he would go away. But Waddles oinked and indicated for the demon to follow him.

"No! Waddles! Go away!" She whispered to him.

"Oink!"

The blond walked around the tree and smirked, seeing Mabel leaning against the tree.

"Who says pigs aren't clever?" He asked, patting Waddles, "Remind me that I now owe you three caramel apples. "

"W-what do you w-want?" She stuttered.

He leaned against another tree, staring at her with an unidentifiable look.

"What did Pine Tree tell you?"

"He told me enough." She replied bluntly, crossing her arms.

He groaned, shaking his head.

"Is that like a family trait or something? Pure bluntness?"

Despite her situation, the brunette couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I suppose it is."

"Again with the short answers! Well, you're distracting me from the point!"

Mabel wanted to walk away, not wishing to hear another long story, and a fake one at that. But found herself unable to walk away. He was not holding her in place, and he had not indicated that something was. Was it her own curiosity?

"Could you at least keep it blunt for me?"

"You know, people always go on about how greedy pigs are." He began, continuing to pet Waddles. "The most common symbol when one thinks of gluttony, selfishness, and human beings. Of course, pigs aren't actually that way. Pigs don't scheme, they don't run banks, or cheat each other. They're just out there trying to survive. But it's amazing how good they are at identifying the traits we all associate them with."

"That was blunt as a kitchen knife."

"A blunt kitchen knife?" He asked hopefully.

"No, a sharp and cryptic kitchen knife."

"Well, do you at least get what I'm trying to say?"

"You're talking as if you're un able to say something to me."

The look on his face confirmed it.

"Even if I did take the time to think it over, I wouldn't trust anything you told me."

"Why not?" He asked confused, "The doctor said you probably had dreams while you were in a coma, but were the ones about me really so horrible?"

"The last thing I saw before I woke up was you killing me. But no, that's not it. I think you know why."

"Honestly, I don't know."

"Did you think," she started coldly, "that you could just get away with manipulating my feelings? Tricking me?"

"What are you talking about?!" He asked, hurt.

"Dipper told me." She informed him.

"That little! He's not... telling... thetruth." He said with a strange difficulty.

"Are you unable to lie?"

"As a demon, I could never lie in the first place. I could twist my words or not speak at all, but I can not out right lie. I'mhaving...difficultytalking...to...you...becauseI'mnot...supposed... to... betalking...about... certainthings...toyou."

"Then why would you bother coming?" She challenged.

"Mabel-"

"Don't call me that! I'm not your little tool for manipulation anymore, and you're never turning me back!"

"Mabel," He growled this time. The demon strode over to her and placed a hand on either side her so she could not move.

"He's not... beinghonest. You've already started to notice, but you're pushing the evidence about it! What reason did he have to not mention Gideon? And the animals, pay attention to them, they're good judges of character."

"W-why should I trust what _you _say?" The brunette asked, startled by the close proximity.

"Because," he said, leaning closer with each word,"You probably wondered why your life support continued for so long. You were right, there is a deadline, forty days. And anyone who can do the math know three months have more than that. Because, not only did I take care if you in the hospital, I took care if your pig, broke off our engagement, and have no rhyme or reason to lie to you. Because god damn it Mabel Pines I lo-"

Just then, he was interrupted by someone calling her name. He gave a slight hiss of annoyance and whispered;

"Don't trust them! Animals notice things we can't!"

Bill disappeared into the night. Shaken, Mabel slouched against the back of the tree.

"Mabel! There she is! Dipper I found her!" Gideon yelled over to him.

Dipper jogged up to ger, his face deathly pale.

"Where were you? Are you ok? How come you weren't back yet?!"

He helped his sister off the ground and pulled her into a tight hug. Mabel began to sob into his shoulders, stuttering out the whole story.

* * *

A few hours later, Mabel lay in the trying to convince herself to sleep. She was in the attic,while Dipper slept in Soos's break room. The old attic still had the same cluttered and stuffy air to it, which she found comforting. But her mind was running amok trying figure out what had transpired in the past few hours.

Dipper had never told her about Gideon or Pacifica. But in his defense, he probably wouldn't have been around Pacifica often enough to know this. But he wanted her to trust Gideon, who _had _gone after them too many times to count. Of course Bill was not exactly the winner of the most trust worthy demon award, but it seemed his words had some truth to them.

Dipper had painted him as the sole villain, was it so she would not discover what ever it was? Could the demon be trying to tell her that Dipper was hiding something? What would he even get out of telling her this? Unless he really did care...

Mabel felt like slapping herself, she really was more paranoid than she thought. Leopards don't change their spots, the demon was still a demon. But wouldn't that mean Gideon was still Gideon?

_"Stop it Mabel! Things don't add up all the time, but it will make sense in the end. Of all people to even debate trusting too!"_ She reprimanded herself, _"But __what did he mean about the animals? The only ones that stood out to me were Gompers and Waddles..."_

Suddenly, a piece clicked. Being his usual cryptic self, Bill had talked about how pigs were used as symbols for things that were selfish, often times people. Was he implying that both Dipper and Gideon had selfish motives involving her?

If Bill knew this, he'd probably twist his words and tell her for the sake of watching her in pain. That made sense at least. Dipper wouldn't want her to find out the hard, or rather the not completely true way. So he made a deal or promise of some sort to stop him from talking. He would make himself out to be the helpless do gooder, trapped in a web of lies. While in actuality, he was the one causing all the trouble.

_"We both know the consequences of doing business with a demon, but if he wanted to protect me... Perhaps I should go ask him?"_

The young woman roused herself and headed down the stairs. She saw a light in the kitchen and heard the voices coming from it. She froze in the hall, listening to what they were saying.

"It's risky ya' know." She heard Gideon say.

"Yes, I know, I know. But if he's going after her, I have to put a stop to it." Dipper replied firmly.

"But a memory sp-"

"Shh! Did you hear something?"

The two froze. Mabel felt her heart pounding furiously against her ribs. Instantly, she was reminded of the memory she had recalled earlier. That one seemed like it was about her, and so did this one.

"Baaa."

They both gave audible sighs of relief.

"Just that ol' goat again. How did he even get in here?"

"Mabel probably let it in."

Here, Mabel decided to make her presence known.

"Did I hear my name?" She asked, walking into the brightly lit kitchen.

The two young men looked at each other before Gideon said;

"We were wondering how that goat keeps getting inside. Dipper guessed you were lettin' him in."

Mabel looked over at her brother who was trying to pull the goat outside. Dipper shrugged;

"Animals like you, I hadn't seen him since you came back. I figured Gompers followed you inside or you let him in."

_"And the animals, pay attention to them. They're good judges of character."_

"I didn't let him in. Strange. Stan always complained about him getting in the shack, maybe there's a broken window or something we don't know about. Anyways, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure," Dipper said walking out into the hall with her.

Staring him in the eyes, Mabel asked;

"Did you make a deal with Bill, preventing him from telling me something?"

"What?! Did he tell you that?!"

"Dipper." She said softly.

He stared her back in the eyes and said;

"Sorry for freaking out on you. The idea of that creep around you bothers me."

"Dipper, answer me."

"I never made a deal with him Mabel."

And with that, he went back to talk with Gideon leaving Mabel in the dark hall. She made her way back up to her room. She laid back down on the bed, and found herself instantly tired. Her last thought before she fell asleep was that Stan had taught her how to lie about her cards when playing poker. Straight face, and eye contact. Dipper had done both of these things when he told her that he hadn't made a deal with Bill.

**_8 ~~~~ : : : :~~~~ Days_**


	3. The Strange Gets Stranger

**Pick a side, any side! Who's the master manipulator? Sorry, but that's for me to know and you to find out. I can't tell you, that's the whole point of one of the genres being mystery. Come to think about it, you probably shouldn't pick a side either... So make like the journals and trust no one. Not even the author who happens to have _Evil _in her pen name...**

**Also, on a side note, we are going to start treading the line between "T" and "M" for this story in the next chapter. If there was a +T or a -M, that is how I would rate it. So, all those under 13 (Which I believe is the age for a "T" story) Bewarb!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Mabel was happy to find she managed to have another peaceful sleep that night. Her small worry of not being able to wake up again had ebbed away, leaving her refreshed. She brushed out her hair, setting it back with a yellow head band as to keep it out of her eyes. Then she got dressed and made her way down stairs hoping at least Dipper remembered to buy food, unlike Stan, who would sometimes forget.

Skipping a few steps on the way downstairs while Waddles tailed behind, she walked to the kitchen. But the young woman froze, remembering the conversation she had overheard from last night.

_"Mabel, you're still paranoid. Perhaps I should bring that up next time I talk to Doctor Hirsch. He always has a logical explanation." _She silently listed to herself.

"Hey Mabel, there's still some pancakes if you and Waddles want some." Dipper greeted as she walked into the small kitchen.

The brunette smiled, feeling reassured that everything was fine. She sat down at the table and Waddles helped himself up onto the chair next to her.

"So that's how all the food I leave on the table has been disappearing!" Dipper concluded to himself. "Who would have thought he could reach the chairs? Anyways, your _gateâu de... _I don't know, _pan_? How does French even work?"

She giggle a little at this.

"I don't think there's a word for pancake in French, they only do fancy things like crêpes."

Handing her the bottle of maple syrup, he replied;

"But crêpes are pancakes! They're just really flat!"

"Non, non, non, monsuer," She said, badly imitating a French accent while butchering the word monsieur. " Theese pancakes, are to, to, not flat!"

They both shared a laugh at her terrible imitation, even Waddles seemed to smile a little. Not that one could really tell, seeing as he was a pig. Mabel quickly ate one of the pancakes, but paused to nod at her brother as he said;

"Well, I need to go out for groceries considering the fact you actually need to eat. I guess I get that not buying food part from Stan. Enjoy your food!"

With that, he raced out if the house, somehow managing to grab his wallet, jacket, and keys with one hand. Mabel shook her head in wonder. Crazy that brother of hers was.

_"No, not crazy," _She corrected herself, _"Just a little detached. Must run in the family. Maybe I'll ask Stan about that when I get the chance, perhaps even break him out of the old people's home while I'm at it. But first, breakfast."_

When she turned back to her plate, she jumped in surprise. Her pig was on the table and had just finished off the last of her food, without any syrup to boot.

"Waddles! That was mine!" The brunette scolded, waving a finger at the pig.

Waddles stared back, but not with the usual guilty look of when he had done something like eat one of Stan's attractions, but with a blank, sort of passive one.

"Get off the table you." She commanded.

The pig did so with out so much as an oink.

"Now you go to the corner and think about what you've done." She said, pointing at the corner.

He dutifully trotted over to the corner and plopped down on the floor, staring blankly at the wall. Mabel just shook her head. When the strange got stranger (Which it often did in Gravity Falls.) you got going. And if she really had to go, it may as well be to the diner. Not knowing when she'd be back, she decided to take the mischievous pig with her.

She set off again with her pig, this time on a dog leash she had kept in the rare circumstances when she needed to keep Waddles from wandering off somewhere. He remained quiet through the walk, always trotting next to her, but never slowing or stopping to investigate anything as he usually did.

"Hey Mabel, are you heading to the diner?" Pacifica asked.

"Oh, yea I am actually. Waddles ate my breakfast when I wasn't looking."

The Northwest heiress bent down and patted Waddles head.

"What? You would never do anything like that, would you Waddles." She asked.

What ever state the pig was in before disappeared, he gave a slightly guilty oink before walking over to his favourite spot outside of the diner. Here, Mabel tied him to a post and turned back to Pacifica.

"Do you mind if I join you?" She asked.

Mabel nodded and headed inside. The inside of the rickety building a waitress chased a beaver (The cause of said building's instability. ) while Lazy Susan attempted to fix the pie plate. She giggled a little as a familiar voice asked;

"Is the kitchen supposed to have that much fire in it?"

Following the usual custom of the greasy restaurant, they seated themselves in a far corner so they could see Waddles from the window.

Lazy Susan stopped her attempt at fixing the broken device long enough to give the two women coffee before returning to her fix-it job.

The conversation between the two was a little slow at first, Mabel was unsure as of what to talk about. Soon she found herself easily chatting with her former rival, amazed at how under all the wraps, the ice queen of Gravity Falls was not that bad.

It had taken a few blows to her ego, but she settled down. No longer cold, and willing to manipulate people with a big name and generous amount of money. Perhaps it was the big fish in the small pond syndrome, Pacifica had mused. She never had been anywhere out of Gravity Falls. Sure there were a few exceptions; Vacations and when her parents decided to take her with them on business trips. Other than those, the outside world was a foren and alien place. Who knew what it was like?

Overcoming the pressure her parents had put on her to do nothing and marry richer, she beat the stuffing out of her fears and took the world head on. Well, perhaps she was glorifying the story a little here. She went to several Universities, and even graduates school. The young woman discovered that she had a talent with her language skills. Specifically French and Latin along with her English. Here, Mabel asked if there was a word for "pancake" in French to which she replied; "no" before continuing the conversation. She made real friends, met her current spouse, and turned her life around.

Content with having seen the world, or at least some of it, she returned to Gravity Falls. Determined to make a legacy for herself, and not just upholding the falsified one of her great-great-great grandfather, she took the not so wisely open position of mayor. Not so wise, because Gravity Falls' last mayor didn't know how to fix the rotating pie plate in the diner let alone manage paperwork.

Mabel listened to this all, stunned. Pacifica had done so much with her life, while she couldn't even remember what she had done in the past half-year. The blond had batted her hand as if it were all nothing, but she still found it all very impressive. What could she possibly have achieved in comparison? When Mabel asked this, Pacifica replied;

"Your fiancé is possibly the biggest suck-up ever. As soon as I can convince my girlfriend to make me breakfast in bed, then we'll talk."

Mabel choked on her coffee;

"Fiance?! Girlfriend?!"

Pacifica laughed. If they had been younger, it would have been accompanied her trademark smirk and a cutting remark. Instead, she simply replied;

"Yea, that always gets a shock out of everyone here. How their Pacifica, great-great-great granddaughter of the town founder, is interested in women. Heh Every time I say that, I'm sure my mother spins in her grave." She chuckled.

"No, it's not that sorry." The brunette apologized, "Every time someone mentions _him _it gets a shock out of me. For some reason whenever I'm trying to enjoy a drink too."

The other woman raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" She inquired.

Mabel played a little with the fork in her hands unsure of what to say.

"Well, it just seems strange when you're, well were, engaged to someone who you barely knew before you lost your memories."

"Well, I see what you mean. I am sorry about the lack of wedding cake though. We spent two whole days deciding what kind to get, Bill went nuts when we have cake samples all over the place. And now I'll never get to try it again!"

She closed here eyes, evidently lost the in the memories of amazing cake flavours. Just then, the lazy-eyed waitress brought them their food.

"Food!" The old woman announced unnecessarily.

They both thanked her, and Mabel quietly said;

"I just hope she remembered that I wanted a regular omelet this time."

The other woman smiled and replied;

"Don't worry. For some unfathomable reason, she took it off the menu. Apparently people never ordered it. Must of had something to do with the bad combination of coffee with eggs."

They both shared a small laugh at this before quickly scarfing down the late breakfast. Luckily there were no surprises to be found with in the food. After finishing they talked about smaller, less important things any two women would small chat about, while waiting for the bill.

After they paid for their own food, they both left with promises to talk again. Mabel found herself feeling strangely enlightened by just having a normal conversation with someone. It helped her restore a little normality to her mind. She untied Waddles, who wagged his curly tail in an almost dog-like fashion.

* * *

The young woman made her way back to the shack with no qualms. Dipper on the couch in front of the T.V. sleeping with a newspaper over his head. She silently grinned at this as she tip toed her way back to her room, her pig in tow. Yawning, she decided maybe she could use a nap too. She layed down and Waddles curled up next to her. But just as she was about to drift off, there was a tapping at the window.

Slightly annoyed, she got up to see what had so wrongly decided to bother her. Much to her surprise, standing on the Mystery Shack's green-yellow lawn was Bill. Before she could turn away, or throw something at him for waking her up, he held up a quickly written message on a white board.

_**Wait!**_

The young woman was annoyed, but she gave away to curiosity wondering what magnificent lies he would be telling this time. Picking up a spare lined notebook and marker, she replied;

_**You woke me up, I was sleeping! **_

He gave an apologetic shrug. Mabel erased her message and wrote a new one.

_**So what is it you want?**_

Very quickly indeed, he wrote;

_**Too many words for this cursed white board. Can I come up on the roof?**_

Should she dare humour what he had to say?

_**Why didn't you just do that in the first place?**_

_**Do I look suicidal to you?**_

_**You have my permission to climb the roof. Just this once. If I see you on here without my permission...**_

There was a rather long list of threats under the list, that turned him a little pale. Nevertheless, he carefully scaled the drainage pipe and pulled himself onto the mercifully flat part of the roof below her. Mabel unlatched the window and prepared herself for any surprises out of him.

"Where's your brother?" Was the first thing he quietly asked.

The demon half expected her to reply;

"Right there."

But instead, she said;

"Sleeping."

"Good." He breathed quietly, relaxing the window frame.

"That's not stable you know." She informed him, trying to cover her nervousness.

"Tell me about it." He replied, grimacing as he felt a few shingles come loose under his feet.

"So did you just come up here so you could perform a one-sided _Romeo and Juliet_?"

"Have you eaten anything your brother has given you?"

She looked at him skeptically.

"I only got one pancake. Waddles got to mine before I could have them."

The blond gave a sigh of relief and slouched farther against the still, only to straighten up again as he felt the roof tiles shift a little more.

"Waddles, you smart pig. That's four caramel apples now!"

Waddles looked up as the demon said his name and oinked happily at the mention of more food for him. But Mabel crossed her arms at this, feeling her patience wear ever more thin.

"What? Happy I had to pay for my breakfast?"

"Sorry, I'll make it up to you. Yourfood... wastainted." He answered, the difficulty speaking returning to him.

"I'm sure it was. And give it up with the unable to speak poor little me act."

"What are you talking about? And itwas... tainted... didn't you see... how... pigwas... acting?"

"I asked Dipper, he said neither of you ever made a deal regarding that." She snapped, ignoring the realization that had come to her.

"I never said we did."

"So why the speech impediment then?"

"You're avoiding the subject."

"Care to elaborate on whatever is then?" She retorted.

"Notice... howobidient... hewas"

"So you're suggesting that Dipper, _my own brother, _is trying to manipulate me. Not the man, demon, whatever it is you're being right now, that was once engaged to me, and is now standing on the roof talking to me in not-so secrecy."

"Not-so secrecy?"

"Dipper's been standing on the ground beneath you for the past five minutes."

He turned paler than he already was and looked behind him. Sure enough, Dipper was looking up at the two holding a baseball bat. Just then, the roof tiles everyone had forgotten about decided to come loose. In an amazing feat of flexibility, he managed not to fall off the roof by pressing his weight against a wall, while holding onto a gap in the wooden planks.

Feeling his hold on begin to slip, he stuttered;

"C-could I just leave w-without being harmed by any chance?"

Dipper looked up at his sister, silently asking her what he should do. Mabel wasn't one to let people face the wrath of her over-protective brother. Well, maybe with the exception of Gideon. But the pleading expression on his face seemed so sincere, and the way he silently mouthed;

_"Please."_

Quietly tore at her.

"We'll let you off with a warning." She informed the two men.

He gave her a weak smile and whispered;

_"I owe you."_

Carefully, he slid down the drain pipe and walked away. As soon as he was off the property and farther way from the protective brother, he looked back. Dipper was glaring at him , his expression clearly telling him what would have happened if he got his way. He felt a small flare of annoyance at this. The idea that someone could have control over him nagged him. Not being one to walk away in defeat, he called over to them;

"I love you Mabel!"

He ran off before he could see either one react to his boldness. Dipper snarled at this, and made a move towards where the demon previously stood. The sarcastic façade Mabel had kept, vanished. In it's place a shocked and slightly nervous one.

Dipper stormed his way into the shack, and called;

"Mabel! Can you come downstairs?!"

She left her room and found her brother impatiently tapping his foot at the bottom of the stairs.

"Mabel. What was he doing there?" He asked with a steely tone.

"Relax Dipper, I was just humoring him." She feebly attempted to joke.

Dipper easily saw how shaken she was, and took a few calming breaths.

"But what was he doing there?"

"I think he was trying to turn me against you." She said with a frown.

"What did he say?" Dipper asked, grabbing her arm.

"Just nonsense." The brunette answered nonchalantly.

"What. Did. He. Say. Mabel?" He asked, his eye twitching.

"Dipper... You're hurting my arm!"

The twin looked down at her arm, startled. He recoiled and cried out;

"Oh! Mabel! I'm sorry! I didn't-"

Furious with himself, the young man couldn't finish his apologies. He hid his face against the wall, not wanting her sister to see him like this.

"I know. I'm scared too Dipper. I don't know what he's planing, who he thinks he is. That declaration of love was just twisted and sick! As if he could actually- just disgusting! There's no way he can keep doing this Dipper, he'll give up eventually."

Her brother was pacified a little at this, and managed to say;

"It's just, I'm worried for you. Look what he's already done to you! You're my sister, if anything happens again I'll loose it. We've already lost mom and dad, and Stan's in the old people's home. Even Soos doesn't work here anymore. He's too busy at the diner. It just feels like everyone leaves on us, I don't know how much more I can take."

Mabel remained silent, unsure of what so say. It was true, she did not know how much more she could take either. Gravity Falls was their home, but maybe coming back to it was not a smart idea. Dipper seemed impossibly stressed by this all, torn up. What he needed right now was his sister, but she was farther away having lost her memory. It was then she realized if Bill had managed to turn her away from Dipper, he would fall apart. Easily taking care of the last of the Pines in the most painful way possible.

* * *

Meanwhile, said demon was pacing around the shack property, unsure of what to do next and clearing his thoughts. What had happened to her? She was so much colder than anticipated towards him. While it was true she did not have many nice memories of him, surely they would return after a time.

At first when he pointed out certain things to her, she seemed to notice if not a little reluctantly. She seemed confused and would rather allow him to remain the villain then accept that he could have changed. Well, he was a villain in some respects, but that was besides the point. The way she addressed him today, sarcastic, almost condescending made it feel like she was humoring what he had to say, rather than taking his advice. What if she began to believe her brother over him? Yes she was already, but more so. What if he lost what he had worked so hard for?

"Oink!"

He jumped, without realizing it, Waddles had been following him around for the past few laps of the perimeter. The pig had grown tired of not being acknowledged and decided to make his presence know. Perhaps it was a bit risky walking around the edge where anyone could easily see him.

"Oh, it's just you." He bent down to scratch the pig's ear. "Why are you out on your own? There's predators, and barbequers you know. Mabel would kill me if she found out you got in trouble because you followed me."

The pig tilted his head.

"So what is it you want? I don't have any food on me right now."

He remained silent. That meant no.

"Does it have to do with Mabel?"

The pig gave a quiet oink, meaning a yes.

"Is she in mortal peril?"

Silent.

"Danger?"

Silent.

"Is she sort of threatened, but not by death?"

An oink.

"Is she aware?"

Silent.

"Will she need my help?"

Silent.

"Did you just want me to know?"

An oink.

"Well, thanks little pig. You better head back on your way before the big bad wolf catches me talking to you."

Waddles nipped his hand at the bad pun.

"What?! That was an ingenious joke!"

But he turned tail on the demon and headed back to the shack porch, leaving to interpret the game of yes and no. What was he supposed to do now? Dare he try and interfere with what ever was going to happen? Something told him he would not get off so easily. He was correct as he heard the dreaded phrase.

"A promissum est a promissum."

He stood helpless as he felt someone wrap their hands around his neck and slam him against the forest floor.

"What a pleasant surprise." He managed to choke out in a feeble attempt to sound sarcastic.

"Cut the pleasantries. What are you still doing here?" Dipper snapped.

"Where is here? Are we even here at all? What if this is all an illusion? Maybe we never existed at all-"

He was cut off as a sharp slap crossed his face. The demon gaged as his hands tightened around his throat. Clearly the young man had experience with this, his intent was to hurt not kill. If he meant businesses, he would have rolled his thumbs farther blocking any oxygen that could squeeze past.

"What are you planing?"

"Planing? Why would I-"

Suddenly, he found himself face to face with the young man.

"I swear if you ever try anything like that with my sister again I will personally exorcise you in the most painful way possible." He breathed, dangerously calm. "I don't know what you have in store, but don't you dare try to involve Mabel. This is between you and me."

Never loosing his bravado for a second, Bill replied;

"Oh really? Perhaps you should reevaluate your motives _Pine Tree_."

The demon tried to hide a grimace as he received a kick to the ribs.

_"I wish, _you'd stop calling me _that_." Dipper snarled.

The demon tried to reply but a fit of coughing overcame him. A trickle of blood started to flow out of the corner of his mouth.

"Get up." Dipper said indifferently.

Through another spasm of coughing, he choked;

"I. Can't."

"Oh yes you can." He replied, pulling the demon up by the collar. His head lolled to one side as if he were a rag doll. This served to farther anger the male twin.

"Look at me."

He tried to comply this time, but couldn't. The muscles in his neck felt stiff and bruised, moving left a sharp pain that morphed into a dull, slow pulsing. The blond could not help but gasp as the youngest Pines twisted his neck to face him. Staring into the boy's eyes, he wished they didn't look so much like Mabel's.

"This _is _between you and me. You're never getting my sister again, she's not yours to do as you please with. Stay away from her. Far, far away."

This was enough for him. Struggling against the bonds, he managed to hiss;

"Don't you _dare_ say something like that about her! She's not a possession, an object, a tool for getting your own way! Mabel's not a strategy, she's your sister, and the woman I love"

Dipper raised an eyebrow.

"You really need to stop lying." Tossing him back on the ground, he continued; "She doesn't want anything to do with you anymore. All she can remember is the horrible monster you really are. Just accept that your schemes aren't going to work this time."

With that, he left the demon on the ground. Perhaps it was little harsh, he had mused. But he was so persistent, so stubborn! Dipper made his way back to the Shack, wondering with a small grin if she had gone to pick up the take out or not.

Sure enough, she was nowhere to be seen.

_"Well what do you know, it actually worked. Things are finally turning around for the better."_

* * *

Mabel looked at the club shaped building so appropriately named "The Club." She was not crazy about the high-strung restaurant where there was even a dress code for picking up take out. Why such an expensive restaurant would serve take out was beyond her. Gravity Falls was the strangest place on earth _not _just because of all the crazy supernatural stuff going on with it, but because nothing, absolutely nothing seemed to work normally here.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, she loved most of the quirks in the small down. But when one could not even go to a restaurant without something weird happening, whether it be a beaver eating your pancakes in the diner, or being served a live lobster in that weird French café, it got a bit irritating.

Pushing open the glass door, the young woman walked up to the booth.

"I'm here under the name Pines." She informed the worker.

"Ah yes, this way please." The middle aged man said.

She followed, slightly confused as to why she wasn't just given the food.

"Here you are miss." He said, pointing to a table seated for two. "And give my regards to your brother."

"Wait! I just came her for take out!" She explained.

The man pulled out a little notebook.

"No miss, it says you're here dining for two with another party under the name-"

"Hey, but I just ordered ta' go!" She heard Gideon's southern drawl say.

If it wasn't for the fact that she was in a fancy restaurant, Mabel would have groaned and slapped her forehead. Instead, she watched as another waiter let the young man over to the table. The two waiters looked between each other, both seeming to have the same predicament.

"Our apologies. It seems that everyone who ordered take out is marked as eating in, and anyone planing on eating is is getting take out. We can't correct it due to so many reservations being made. Food's on the house though." One of them apologized.

"Your waiter will be here soon." The other said before following his coworker.

The two looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Only in Gravity Falls." Gideon said, shaking his head.

* * *

They kept everything short and sweet, ordering separately. Mabel felt jumpy and nervous through the whole ordeal, trying to be civil but not wanting to spend any more time then nessicary with him. Any conversation between the two was strained, but she welcomed the quiet.

They left the restaurant and went their separate ways. The young woman made her was home uneventfully. But when she went inside, she saw Dipper washing blood of his hands in the kitchen sink.

"Dipper what happened?!" Mabel asked, shocked.

"I just cut my finger." He said a little sheepishly.

Mabel put her hands on her hips.

"Doing what?"

"Working downstairs." He bluntly replied. "Why did it take you so long to get diner?"

"It's a long story," Mabel began before explaining the whole ordeal.

Drying off his hands on a towel, he simply replied;

"See? He's changed."

Mabel twisted her hands a little and said;

"I don't know, there's something just... Off about it all."

"Why? He's done nothing but be a big help. He really has changed."

"Dipper, you said there's no way Bill could have ever changed, why would you belive Gideon had?"

"Mabel." He began sternly, "You're not seriously suggesting-"

"No Dipper. I don't trust Bill. But I don't trust Gideon either."

"You don't get it. People have always wanted you around Mabel. You don't know what it's like to be an outcast, no one wanting you around. It's been the same with us too. Gideon _has _changed. And I'd much rather have him around you than that demon."

Mabel looked at her brother, shocked at his outburst.

"Dipper what are you talking about?! People don't want me around all the time! My life isn't one big world of sparkles and rainbows. Whatever impression you've been getting of it is wrong."

"Go to your room."

"What?!" She began, laughing hysterically, "You're not mom or dad, you're not Stan! You can't send me to my room!"

"I said, go to your room."

"You know what? Fine! I will go to my room! I'll just go back to my room and be Mabel Pines cheerful airhead of the family who can never stay mad long! I'll go knit a sweater, _slightly _whistling through my braces as I talk to my pig because I'm too eccentric to keep people around me for long!"

With that, she strode angrily out of the room, making a point to unwisely stomp up the stairs. Dipper followed after her, trying to apologize, but she wouldn't hear it. Fuming, the young woman slammed the door and locked it before flopping down on the bed. She furiously sighed into her pillow.

What was going on? Why did it feel like Dipper, her own brother was hiding something from her? She though back to what Bill had said. Both Waddles and Gompers had been acting strange. Her pig had run off, eaten her food, and chewed on his pants, something she had trained him out of years ago. Obviously, she did not keep track of Gompers, who came and left as he pleased. But the goat had done so too.

Dare she take his word? Could they possibly be that they saw things she did not? Did they know something was not right with this all? How her brother was acting. Willing to trust the same person who had tried to maim him, destroy his family, but not his own sister. He complained about everyone leaving, but _he _had sent Stan away, _he_ had encouraged Soos to move on.

Flipping onto her back, she continued to wonder. She had not seen Stan yet, maybe if she went to visit him, thing would become more clear. Mabel stood and took a few shaky breaths. She did not want to encounter Dipper in case she had to deal with more of his irrationality. Carefully, she pushed open the window and stepped out on to the roof. Hopefully, it would hold her weight better than the demon's.

The young woman froze as she heard someone walking up onto the front porch. She crouched against the rotting tiles, peering over the eaves to see who it was. In the fading sunlight, she saw Gideon's platinum blond hair glinting in the orangish light.

She held her breath, waiting for him to be let in. After what felt like an eternity, she heard him and Dipper talking before going inside. With the same cautiousness of before, she descended the drain pipe and hastily ran off the property.

As soon as she was sure no one could see her from the shack, Mabel walked a few meters into the forest so she could still see the road, before slouching against a tree. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the left over adrenaline pulse through her heart. Catching her breath, she continued on her way.

_**9. 12-9-5-4... 3-5 -1-19-1-18. 14-5-24-20. 20-9-13-5...**_


	4. And Stranger

**I liked all the theories you guys have proposed so far, a few of them sure are interesting. And on a side note, jusr because Mabill is the pairing, it doesn't mean he's any good. For all you know it could simply be implied to have taken place in the past, or is one sided. So saying that doesn't give away who's who. Well, what do I know? I'm just the author who is _completely _trust worthy because she has Angel in her pen name... Oh, that's right, I don't... **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Gradually, the forest became darker around her as she made her way to town. Mabel had calmed down a little, but was still mad at her brother. Her sense of reasoning was coming back to her, and she was starting to wonder how she was even going to find the place where Stan was staying. She didn't even have the name!

Pride would not allow her to turn around, so she continued on her walk. But she stopped in her tracks as she heard someone, or more likely something, moan in pain. Mabel edged her way closer to the perimeter, thinking that she had over stayed her welcome in the mysterious woods. Despite this, she called;

"Hello?"

"It's just me." Bill replied.

"Are you following me?!" She asked, startled.

"No. I've been laying on the ground all day trying to make it to town." He said without a hint of the sarcastic tone he was so fond of using.

"Why on the ground?"

"I think I broke something." Came the strained reply.

She turned and started to walk back to the road when she realized what she was doing. Sure he was evil, but wouldn't it make her just as bad, leaving him injured in the woods,at the mercy of any supernatural creature that crossed his path? If he wasn't faking, then should she help him. Right?

"Where are you?" She asked with a sigh.

"On the ground."

"I see you've mastered the art of being blunt at the worst possible times."

"I had a good teacher."

"Keep talking, I'll just follow the sound of your voice."

"But my throat hurts, and I don't know what to talk about. How can I keep talking if-"

Stepping around a few bushes, the young woman found him sprawled out on his stomach. She gasped, unless he had some how faked it all, he was a mess. There were finger marks around his neck, there was a trickle of blood in the corner of his lips. The demon took shuddering breaths as if it hurt to move, and in the shady light, it looked as if one side of his cheeks were bright red as if in stinging pain.

"What happened to you?" She asked, shocked.

He raised his head slightly to look at her.

"You wouldn't belive me. Even if I told the truth you wouldn't. Because I'm a guile, lying, conniving, monster who doesn't have any _feelings _or a sense of _morals _to go by." He ranted. "I just wish to exploit and manipulate you no matter what. It's not like were were ever _engaged _at one time, or I _love _you."

His voice broke at the last part, and he took another shattering breath before resting his head on the ground again. Mabel tried to shake off what he had said, passing it off as him trying to get to her emotions and naturally caring nature. But he gave a rasping cough, and began to shudder. He looked so frail, not holding himself with his usual confident air.

She caved in, and knelt down next to him.

"I'm going to flip you on your back, ok?"

"Sure." He said through gritted teeth.

Taking care to not to shift his ribs too much, as they seemed to be in the most pain, she turned him onto his side, and then slowly on his back. All though this strenuous operation, he had his fists clenched as if trying to to scream out in anguish. Cautiously, she cradled his head in her lap.

"Honestly, what happened to you?"

He looked at her through half closed eyes.

"I was attacked."

"By whom?"

He tried to not say anything, but it seemed to visibly give him difficulty.

"Who attacked you?" The young woman asked a little more forcefully.

"Don't. Make me. Say." He pleaded.

"Do I know this person?"

He bit his lip and nodded.

"Did he, let's rephrase that. Is it a he?"

He nodded again abet painfully.

"Are we related?"

"Please. Don't make me say."

"Why?" She asked.

"I really can't flat out lie to you. Not answering only works a little, it begins to hurt."

"Twist your words! Give double meanings! I though you liked that kind of stuff."

He swallowed painfully and said;

"I do like to. But I don't want to with you."

"It's hurting you! Why not then?!"

"It's not fair to you."

"A lot of things aren't fair if I recall. So who attacked you?"

"Your brother." He hissed venomously.

At this, he half expected to feel another blow to the ribs or face. To hear her scream again about how his lies were never going to fool her again, that he was evil, the scum of the earth. Instead, she looked down at him, sympathetic as ever, as if something had clicked in her mind. Dipper had said he gotten cut. There was blood on his hands, but no wound.

Mabel continued to look at him with the same soft look, an expression so achingly familiar to him, Internally, he sighed in dispare, wondering when she would get her memories back, and when she did, would she even consider to accept him. Just then, something occurred to Bill.

"You got your question, now it's my turn. What are you doing out here? It's nearly dark you know."

"I was going to visit Stan."

"You don't know where he is do you?"

She shook her head, a little red faced.

"Figures, your brother wouldn't want you to know. Of course, my words don't mean anything to you, so why should I bother? Ask him, and I bet my non-existent soul he will change the subject or flat out say no."

To his surprise, she genuinely seemed to think it over. But rather than reply to that, she asked;

"Do you have anything I could mop up the blood with so you're at least decent once you get into town?"

"There's an unused handkerchief in my jacket pocket," He supplied.

Somewhat awkwardly, she felt around in the breast pocket of his slightly tattered jacket till she found the yellow handkerchief.

"Why do you even carry one on you?" She asked, clearing away the blood on his lips.

"So I look stylish for every event, whether it be a dinner party, or an impromptu mauling to death."

Despite the situation, Mabel could not help but laugh. She continued to mop up the sweat and grime before handing him an now filthy handkerchief.

"Nasty. You can just leave that there."

She carelessly threw it to the side. Now, they both remained silent, unsure as of what to say. Mabel began to wonder what she had just done by helping him. Perhaps he was not the villain this time, just someone caught in the middle. He was easy to blame for any problems that might have arised.

_"No, it's not safe." _A voice in the back of her head that suspiciously sounded like Dipper said.

She had never let her guard down for a second, yet nothing happened to her. He looked better now that he had been cleaned up a bit. He closed his eyes as if falling asleep in her lap. She stared at him, daydreaming off into space.

_"Mabel! Why are there boxes filled with cake every where?!" A familiar voice asked._

_She and Pacifica turned to see her less than pleased fiancé. _

_"The store offers free cake samples! We had to try them so we know which one to get!" She defended._

_Pacifica continued to munch on her strawberry cheesecake sample, but nodded in agreement. Even Waddles was in on the fun, actually sitting in one of the boxes while enjoying a slice of plain vanilla with caramelized apples._

_"But they're everywhere!" He protested, waving his arms in exaggeration. _

_Having finished her latest sample, the blonde said;_

_"Oh hush you! You're just jealous that Waddles got into the raspberry flavors before you!"_

_"What?! But that's my favourite!"_

_She handed him one of the white cardboard boxes with a teasing smile._

_"Don't worry, she's just crazy. Now shut up and help us try all these cakes."_

Startled, Mabel jumped a little. Had she merely been daydreaming, or did that actually happen? Could she have just recovered another one of her memories?

"Is raspberry your favorite cake flavor?" She asked.

"That's a bit out of nowhere." He informed her without opening his eyes. "But yes, it is. Why?"

"I think, I remembered something." She said softly.

"Excellent. It means you're on your way to getting better." The demon congratulated, smiling a little. "I think I can get up now."

Clumsily, the young woman helped him to his feet.

"Well, I can move every thing. I guess I just feel broken."

With that, he began to hobble off.

"Wait!" She paused, stupidly wondering why she had called back to him, "Are you sure you can make it?"

"Positive. I'll be better sooner than most would. I'm a demon you know." He winced a little as he said this, but limped on.

Despondently, he walked on his way. How she could be so close, yet so far? This only served to make him feel worse. Why couldn't she just belive what he said? That-

"I love you!" He called back to her.

Feeling disturbed and confused by this all, Mabel turned her own way and left. Now that the burst of caring that had overcome her had gone, the young woman did not know what to think. It seemed there was something up with Dipper, but she couldn't trust Bill either. Why wouldn't any one just flat out explain what was going on? What had caused so much tension to form between her brother and him?

Guilty, she began to feel sorry for snapping and running off on Dipper, but not enough to apologize. She knew that he often kept in his feelings, quietly biding his time. He was more or less a ticking time-bomb, yet she had never expected him to take it out on her.

And there was something about the way he had commanded her away. Sure it was a ridiculous request, but the expectant tone her twin used was strange. As if he never expect her to deny for a moment, like she had no choice but to do as she was told.

Mabel could not help but remember the demon's warning. At this rate, there was no one she could trust. The brunette shivered. What was happening to her life?

* * *

It was dark by the time Mabel made it home. Like a cat, she quickly and silently scaled the shack wall. Pulling herself through the window, she tumbled onto her bed. Waddles barely lifted his head at this, and farther snuggled into the quilt.

Hastily, she changed into her pajamas and not bothering to tie up her hair, jumped into bed. Soon she found herself lulled to sleep by the sound of the forest.

_"W-what are you doing?"_

_"You think anyone could ever fall for you?! My, my how wrong you were. A fun ride while it lasted yes, maybe I'll keep you around after I've disposed the rest of your family."_

_"B-but-"_

_"Oh, did I hurt your feelings? Poor little Mabel Pines, no where to turn, and no where to run. Maybe you should have listened to your brother. Because look at you now, it's all. Your. Fault."_

Screaming, she woke up. She was aware of someone holding her, patting her back as she shivered in revulsion.

"Mabel are you ok?" She heard Dipper ask.

She found herself stuttering out apologies, sorry that she had doubted trusting him.

"Shhh." He soothed, "Calm down a little, you're hysterical. It was just a dream, just a dream."

"B-but it wasn't Dipper! I'm s-starting to remember!"

He continued to pat her back, slowly calming her down.

"There, feeling better now?" He asked.

Sniffling a little, she nodded. He left the room for a minute and returned with a glass of water. Handing it to his sister, Dipper asked;

"It's still early, do you want to stay up?"

The young woman nodded again as she drank the water.

"Well, ok. I'm going back to be downstairs. Please keep the screaming to a minimum." He feebly attempted to joke.

He left his sister to her own devices. Mabel placed the glass by her bed and began to get changed. As she pulled on a shirt, she began to wonder how she could have ever distrusted her own brother. The young woman was still shivering, her teeth chattering as she recalled what the demon had clearly said. Could that be it? The shock that sent her into a coma? His plan revealed to her, real motives unleashed. It made sense in a sinister way, . He could have confessed, and in her attempt to stop him got hurt.

Now brushing her chestnut brown hair, she could easily see how much Dipper had been doing for her. Clearly, he was just worried. Besides, what other motives could he even possibly have? From his perspective, he was nervous for her. It wasn't like any of her other relationships had exactly been a success. Well, except for her one with Gideon...

Her, she snapped out of her reverie. What was she thinking?! There was no way she had seriously believed for a moment that was possible. Her weird dating, if one could call it that, with Gideon was strained and awkward to say the least. While she had seen him more as a friend who she could still do girly stuff with, the nine-year old had other ideas.

Brilliant ideas, she realized, taking another sip of water. They were crazy and younger at the time, surely he would have changed by now. Coming of age and stuff. Obviously, the demon couldn't have changed because he didn't grow any older. Yes, that made sense. She wondered why Dipper had not pointed that out to her, it certainly would have saved the trouble.

Maybe if the two were not busy today, she would go see how they were doing. Finishing off the last of her drink, she headed down stairs to put away the glass and eat breakfast. Hopefully sans Waddles this time.

As she made her way to the kitchen, a cold draft blew through the halls. Strange, there weren't any windows around, and it was just the end of August.

_"Old houses like these had drafts all the time, there's nothing to worry about." _She assured herself.

Mabel sat down at her usual spot and poured herself a bowl of cereal. The young woman wrinkled her nose a little at the taste of the cereal.

"Cheery Zeroes?" She said aloud._  
_

Despite the bland taste, she continued to eat the knock-off cereal. Even the mascot was similar! A wasp! How come bigger companies never sued these ones for so closely copying them? She was not left to think it over as Dipper and Gideon walked in.

They both gave a curt greeting to her before returning to their original conversation. Not wanting to bother them, she quickly finished off her breakfast.

"So what do you think Mabel?"

She shook her head.

"Sorry, pardon me?"

"We were wondering if you wanted to see what we were working on."

She had not been expecting this. It was amazing how trusting he was, she felt lucky that he was willing to share what ever it was with her. With a smile, she replied;

"Sure."

* * *

Soon enough, she found herself being blindfolded. They had insisted she could not see how to get in incase something happened to her.) She easily agreed to this suggestion. She did not want to give anything away. If she had been tricked once, the demon might try again, she remembered.

They led her around, and she soon felt her ears pop. Clearly they were somewhere underground. The young woman picked up a sort of oily, metallic smell that mingled with that of a mildewy one. The air around her was stifling and humid, there was no breeze to move it. The ground under her feet changed from the scuffed planks of the shack, to what felt like stone or pavement, and now something rigid like a metal grating of some sort. All through out the trip, there was a deep mechanical thrumming that sounded through the whole cavern. It was not loud, but she could feel the vibrations through the soles of her shoes, causing her to wonder what could possibly be making that noise.

"Ummm, where are we exactly?" The brunette curiously asked.

"Well, ya' know how Gravity Falls was a mining town. Under the shack, there's a whole lil' network of tunnels and caverns. Some of them are natural caves, and others were dug out by someone else. Our guess was that it was your great uncle." Gideon explained.

"Yea, there are underground tunnels and rivers everywhere. It's amazing down here." Dipper added, "Oh you can look now."

Slowly, she pulled off the blindfold. Mabel took in a sharp breath of surprise.

"Amazing." She gasped.

She was in a deep hollowed out cavern, little droplets of water fell from the ceiling. Looking up she saw that countless stalactites hung down. Or was is stalagmites? What did the "M" in "stalagmites" mean again? She seemed to be on a metal cat walk of some sort, at least thirty meters in the air. Looking below her, the young woman saw what they had been going on about.

An elaborate patch work of machines spread out below her. Nests of coloured wires, ran across the ground and were strung along the ceiling. But what drew her attention was the thing along the farthest wall. It was vast and covered nearly all of it. She could not make out a definite shape, because it glowed an eerie pulsing blue-white. Staring at this for too long began to make her feel nauseous, the light felt unnatural to her, yet it was still beautiful in it's unnatural way.

The young men looked between each other, amused at her wonder.

"We should probably head back now." Dipper said.

They blind folded her again and led Mabel back into the shack.

* * *

As Mabel went off somewhere, Dipper and Gideon remained in the gift shop. Running a hand through his short hair, a habit he had recently taken up, Gideon said;

"She seemed impressed."

Dipper smiled a little and replied;

"Yes well, who wouldn't be? "

"You're sure she'll keep it secret? You've been telling me how the demon's been hanging around with her."

"Unfortunately so. But she still trusts us over him, and with a few _pushes _in the right direction, there'll be no way she could ever want anything to do with him again."

"So you gave her a dose of _tuus cogitatione_?"

"You disapprove?"

"No, no. I just never expected you to go through with it."

"She's my sister, and I'll do anything to keep her safe."

_**Cfse axvp...**_


	5. Several Close Encounters

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Mabel wandered around the shack property, silently amazed at all she had seen. The machinery was impressive, but it brough up the question of how they managed to do so much on their own? Where did they get the materials and other necessities from?

"Hello? Earth to Mabel!"

She jumped and looked up at Bill, wondering how it was even possible to hang upside down the roof like that with out breaking something. What was she thinking? This was _Gravity Falls, _where still living lobsters and coffee omelets were food options, a potentially dangerous person, demon, what ever he was being right now, defying the laws of gravity was no big surprise.

"What are you doing back here? One near death not enough for you?"

"Death isn't really on my list of things to worry about, I'm a demon you know."

"You didn't seem to think that when you asked for my help."

Still managing not to fall ( _"Seriously,"_ Mabel thought to herself, _"How?"_) he replied;_  
_

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You still have a black eye."

"Nonsense, you're imaging things."

"So you're not really defying gravity by holding onto the _very unstable _roof?"

As if on cue, several of the shingles slipped, and he was forced to jump off the roof.

"You know, if you're going to climb up on the roof so much, can you at least replace the old tiles while you're at it?"

Crossing his arms, the blond defended;

"It's not my fault if every time I step foot on the property I'm chased off with the broom."

"Don't worry, Gideon gets the same treatment from Stan. I think Dipper's more of a base ball bat, old rake kind of person."

"He is." The demon said with a shiver.

"You're amazing at avoiding the subject."

"Subject? What subject? Why would I be avoiding anything?"

"Bill, the only thing you've avoided so far is your chances of escaping with out being chased off the property with the broom. Or rake. Or what ever is closest to Dipper at the current time."

"I'm not really afraid of a bowl of cereal." He supplied.

"That's still, and always will be creepy."

"Knowing too much for my own good?"

"Yes, what else?"

"Rhetorical question, rhetorical question..."

Seeing as he was still avoiding the subject, Mabel picked up the broom that was always left on the porch. The demon became visibly more pale at this. It sort of made Mabel wonder what was so terrible about a broom. If she recalled correctly, Gideon had said the same thing many years ago.

"No! Not the broom!"

"Yes the broom. Now go away." She snapped, swatting at him a few times.

"Fine! I'll get to the point."

"Continue." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I owe you," He began, rubbing the back of his neck, "So I was thinking lunch?"

_Crack!_

Mabel looked at the now broken broom in her hands. He swayed a little on his feet, but managed to say dazedly;

"I'm going to take that as a no."

She watched as the blond stumbled off the property. Well, there went a perfectly good broom. That jerk. Why couldn't he just leave her alone, what was there to gain. She felt her heart skip a beat at her most recent memory of him.

Could have been stalking her all this time, finding a way to weasel into her life? It would be no trouble for him to do so, she admitted it herself she was easily manipulated by those in need. Perhaps he had even become infatuated with her after a while, it had happened with so many others before. A sudden feeling of exposure overcame her. The young woman was sure she felt something lightly twisting her hair and whispering into her ears. The sensation vanished as soon as it had come though, leaving her to wonder what he would do to her once, if, he got his way.

_"Oh you know, you know..."_

Snapping out of her thoughts, Mabel tossed the fractured broom onto the woodpile by the side of the house. Just then, Gideon walked out onto the steps giving his farewells to Dipper.

"Hey." She said, making her presence known.

The albino gave a hesitant wave back before continuing on his way.

"Wait up!" Mabel called, catching up to him. "Are you heading to town?"

"Err, yea. Just back to my parent's old house though."

"Then I'll walk with you," She replied with a grin.

Slightly surprised by this, he matched his steps to hers, amazed by her sudden change in attitude. He welcomed it of course, she had been edgy around him before. It was nice to see that she had been able to cheer a little with the prompts from her brother. What a brilliant mind he was...

"So how's your project been coming along?" Mabel asked.

"Oh, really well actually. You'd be amazed how much we've been able to do together. Off on ma' own, there wasn't as much one person could do. Your brother is quite the character he is, quite the character..." He broke off here with a smile.

"That's great!" The young woman chirped, "I'm glad you two are getting along. Dipper's never really had many people he could call a friend."

"He said we're friends?" Gideon asked hopefully.

"Mhm."

The platinum-blond gave a genuine smile. A handsome one, Mabel realized. It wasn't contorted with his usual smugness, or that familiar glint of border-line insanity, leaving his still babyish face clear of any reminders of what he had once been.

She felt her stomach flutter at this as she studied his features. He must have slimmed down while in jail, for her was nowhere near chubby as before. His face was still slightly rounded, and he had a few more freckles, there was a little stubble growing on his face, and she mused how he would look his he decided to grow a goatee like Doctor Hirsch.

_"It would look good on him." _She decided. It would contrast his still boyish features.

"How come you cut you hair?" The brunette asked.

Running his hands through it, (A habit he really needed to stop doing.) He answered;

"My sparkly hair went out with my life as 'Lil Gideon. Hairspray and all."

"Well, I like it."

They both stopped, as they had reached the bus stop.

"Well, you better get going before Dipper has a panic attack, wondering where you are."

Mabel gave a shrug.

"Yea I guess so."

Suddenly, Mabel felt she didn't want to leave, she'd much rather stay and talk. There was something so, charismatic about him. It made her feel welcome and nervous at the same time, but in a good way. A burst of courage came over her. Before he could move, the young woman gave him a chaste kiss.

"Nice talking to you!" The brunette called to him as she ran off.

Shocked, Gideon raised a hand to his cheek, watching her retreating figure. The young man found a light flush in his cheeks as he stepped onto the bus and paid his fare. That brother of hers sure could work wonders!

* * *

Enduring the five-minute bus ride and irritating questions from Lazy Susan, he got off at his stop. The streets were fairly empty as he walked down the sidewalk. This was strange, seeing as there was usually someone or something outside, whether it be an average citizen or an army of marraige-obsessed gnomes. He began to feel a bit paranoid, as if someone was watching him. In an effort to break the eerie silence, he hummed a familiar tune.

_"Who's cute as a button and always your friend-"_

A felt a trickle of sweat break out on the back of his neck. At what, he was not sure, but it probably wasn't good. The platinum-blond speed up a little and hummed a little more worriedly.

_"Lil' G, I, D, ta' the-"_

Finally, his house was insight. Pulling out his skeleton keys for his childhood home, he jogged the last few young man fumbled with the keys, but managed to unlock the door as he finished the jingle.

"E, O, N!" He finished alloud.

With a sigh, he closed the door and slid against one of the walls.

"I always hated that song." Bill, informed him.

Gideon yelped and swore he felt his heart skip a beat.

"W-what are you doing back here?"

"Sheesh, not even a hello?" Bill asked, crossing his arms.

"H-hello?" Gideon stuttered.

"Come on, be more sincere than that!"

Gideon continued to edge away from him. Bill sighed, clearly this would not be the day someone treated him as if he was normal. Not even one greeting! Perhaps it had to do with appearing out of nowhere all the time?

"Oh, well to answer your question, I stole your keys when you weren't looking."

"But my keys are right-"

"Here?" Bill held up the keys.

"How is that even possible?!"

"I thought we had gone over this." The demon said, holding the keys out of his reach.

"Yes well it's still creepy!"

"I wouldn't say so. I'd think helping your long time nemesis into manipulating his sister for both of your own gain is a bit sketchy too."

"W-we're just doing it to k-keep her s-safe."

"Are you sure that's your best interest?" He interrogated, dangerously soft. "Are you sure?"

He gulped and nodded.

"You're not planning on _cheating them, betraying at all_?" He asked, stalking closer to him.

"I-I'm not going to-"

"I know you know better than that. But you certainly seem to not be showing it. Perhaps it's not Mabel you're interested in?"

"What are you talking about?! Our relationship is strictly business!"

"Perhaps, Mabel reminds you of him? They _are _twins you know." He hissed.

Finally, Gideon found what he was looking for.

"No! Not the broom!"

The albino swung at him a few times, missing the first swing, but landing the second. The demon got the message.

"Fine! I can tell when I'm not wanted!" He sniffed.

Bill handed him back his keys. And in the same way he had come, he vanished with out a trace.

* * *

Wandering through the streets of Gravity Falls, Bill realized why he couldn't hold a normal conversation with anyone. He wasn't exactly normal. Ok. Well, _maybe _it also had something to do with the fact that his sudden appearances were often (It was more like always actually.) startling.

He rubbed his head where he had been hit with a broom not once, but twice. It was getting to risky for his health trying to talk with others. From now on, he would give a five year's notice before showing within ten feet of someone.

_"Why brooms though?" _ He wondered to himself.

Surely Mabel wouldn't have chased him off the property in normal circumstances, right? The image of her leaving Gideon with a kiss clouded his vision, and for a moment uncontrollable anger soared through him. He would kill that little brat! He would snap his neck before she could ever do so again. She wasn't his! The pleasantly surprised expression on his face only made it worse, to think that _his _Shooting Star-

His thoughts were broken off as he crashed into someone.

"Get off of me. Now." Mabel snarled.

He smirked as he stood up, and pulled the young woman to her feet.

_"Perfect. No brooms around this time dearest."_

"Are you ok?" He asked, dusting her off, his hands lingering around her waist.

"No. And stop doing that!" She said, slapping away his hands.

"Why?" The blond asked, taking a step closer to her. "Does it make you _uncomfortable_?"

"No." Mabel answered, taking a few steps back.

"Are you sure?" He walked closer to her.

"I'm sure." The brunette replied, still backing away.

"Are you _suuuuuuuurrrrreeee_?" He stretched with an unsettling grin.

"Positive." She replied, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach.

"Positive?"

"Positi-" Her voice squeaked on the end as she felt a wall behind her.

"Well then, I'd have no reason to doubt you."

Before she could slip away, he placed a hand on either side of her. Mabel felt her heart skip a beat at this.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Well I've been nice for a while now, and it hasn't seemed to have worked." He explained.

Mabel shivered as she felt his hot breath creeping down her neck.

"I thought I'd be a little less _formal_." He purred, his lips brushing hers.

"Well, stop it!"

Much to her surprise, he did so with out hesitation and turned away from her. His voice lost it's sultry tone, and he said light-heartedly;

"Sorry, but it was worth a shot. I'd much rather not bother you like that. Who knew? Maybe a few kisses would have helped you remember."

"A likely theory." She snapped, crossing her arms.

"We could still test it out you know." He responded hopefully.

"Not. In. Your. Life time." She jabbed his chest with an accusing finger.

"Yeesh, alright, alright."

She tried to slide past him, but he pinned her back into place with his hips and a smirk. She felt her breath stick in her throat as as she wondered if he had merely been humoring her.

"I love you." He whispered into her hair.

He let go of her and sauntered off. Mabel placed a hand against her chest and farther slouched against the wall. She bit back a scream as what had just happened sunk in. Right then, he could have done anything to her; Killed her or worse... And she stood complety defenseless, frozen as he leaned closer, and closer, breathing down her neck. It would have been so easy for him to do anything with her, a simple kiss or worse.

_"I love you." _

Every syllable served to make her more nervous. Dipper had been more than right about him than he had realized. If the demon couldn't manipulate her for his own benefit, then he would have his way with her instead. Did Dipper have any ideas on what to do about him? Surely he would, he was always planning something. Mabel shivered as the exposed sensation overcame her. He _better _have a plan.

* * *

Dipper yawned, skimming though the yellowing pages of Three. He kicked of his shoes and lounged back on the overstuffed couch in what was once Soos's break room. His sleep schedule had been messed up for quite the time now, sleeping in the afternoon, and getting up to work with Gideon around six. But right now, he didn't feel very tired, so he decided to do a little reading on the spell he had used.

He wanted to see how long it would last and such. He couldn't have her loyalties waning, that would easily stir up more trouble. Speaking of which, where was she now? Gideon had called him to inform him that she had walked with him for a while, but she should have been back by now. Oh well, just another thing he'd have to work on with her afterwards.

_"Hmmm, let's see...Possessed snow globes, sentient rocks, hexes, spells, and more enchantments."_

_Tuus Cogitatione, or your thoughts. A fairly basic spell that places an (several) individual(s) under a submissive enchantment based upon the wishes of the caster. Unlike arguably stronger obedience spells, the afflicted will remember all that they have done, thus dispelling any suspicion between those who are unaware of it's placement. Due to it's weaker tendencies, one must continue to reinforce it. But if one wishes to remove the charm, they-_

He paused reading as he heard a knock at his door.

"Dipper?" Mabel asked softly.

"Yea, come in." He replied, quickly flipping to a different page in the old leather-bound book.

He gave his sister a friendly smile as she walked inside, stepping around the various things he had spread across the floor. It faded a little as he noticed she shifted on her feet and stared the (Now carpet-free.) floor.

"Dipper." She repeated.

The young man tensed, wondering what this was about.

"What is it?" He asked.

"He's, he's been following me all day. And after I walked back home, he, he-"

Possibilities at what he had done to his sister ran through his mind. Oh gods, what if he had done more than hurt her? The visualization of him near his sister, holding her as she tried to resist. His sister, the sweet and cheery Mabel Pines...

"What did he do to you Mabel?"

The young woman shuttered in revulsion, and he prepared to comfort her if she burst into tears.

"He, came close, but backed off..." She said, "But he said he's going to persist in his efforts."

He gave a sigh of relief, but Mabel looked at him confused.

"No! Mabel, it's not that I... I though he had done worse, gotten to you."

The brunette wrinkled her nose and said;

"No, but it seemed like he was going to for a moment. Dipper, you're the one with the journals, is there some way we can insure he'll leave me alone?"

_"Of course not you airhead! You think I wouldn't have done it already?!"_

"Of course there is. The journals always have something, I was unsure if you would be willing to take my suggestion or not though. "

"I-I don't care! I just want him gone!"

_"Good."_

Dipper grinned and opened it to the page on obedience spells.

_**3 ~~ : . ~ Days**_


	6. Tipping the Scales

**Hey guys, just a head's up, this coming Saturday I will be on vacation for a week or so. Blahhh weddings and visiting family. Not only that I'm going to miss a chunk of school which leaves me twitchy because I'm a school-oholic and hate missing classes. I'm unsure as to whether or not I will have internet in the hotel we're staying at. I'll confirm everything with you on Thursday when we receive our next update.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls**

* * *

The next few days were relatively calm. She had seen hide nor hair of the demon, and had gone out with Gideon yesterday. It seemed whatever Dipper had done, worked. Mabel still felt a little tired and had slept in until the afternoon. Well, that was until Waddles decided that he should wake her up.

Now feeling a little subdued in the summer's heat, Mabel lounged across the porch couch, taking in the sounds of the forest.

"Baaa!"

"Hey! Give that back!"

The young woman chased after Gompers, who had somehow managed to steal one of her shoes.

"That's not for eating!" She called after the brown goat.

Rather than run off into the forest like she suspected, Gompers stopped and stood by one of the shack's walls. He dropped the shoe, and looked at her expectantly. She walked over to the goat, ready to pounce after him should he run away with her shoe again, but he remained still. The brunette inched closer, but Gompers did not do anything. Finally, she picked up her shoe and slipped it back on her foot. The wild goat just tilted his head at this, it seemed he expected her to realize something. And she did.

Mabel was standing under one of the windows of the gift shop, where a few bushes prevented her from getting to close. Just then, the goat leaped into the bushes and vanished.

"What?! Where'd you go?!"

"Baaa!" The goat echoed.

Curiously, she pushed apart the foliage. A small tunnel had been dug out leading underneath the shack's wooden supports. It looked large enough to accommodate her, and her curiosity was building. What could possibly go wrong?

She lay down on her stomach and began to wriggle and pull herself through the tunnel. Mabel gasped in amazement. To her surprise, it was not so much a tunnel as it was an entrance. She was now underneath the Mystery Shack. The young woman could tell this because little streaks of light fell through the gaps in the floorboards, and she heard people walking above her. The boards were a meter or so above her head, and she was able to stand up in places.

She could not help but say to herself;

"Curiouser, and curiouser. Luckily this isn't a rabbit hole."

She felt something nudge her hand and leaped in surprise. Having caught her attention, Gompers trotted farther off into the shady darkness. Following, Mabel exclaimed;

"So _that's _how you've been getting around!"

If she didn't know better, the brunette could have sworn he nodded. She walked over to where he stood, and looked around. Above her, she could see the grating of one of the vents. From where she stood, it looked like she was under the gift shop. Mabel felt her heart skip a beat as she heard Gideon and Dipper talking.

"So what exactly does it do?" Gideon asked.

"_Tuus cogitatione _is simply obedience in an can't resist any suggestions your or I give her, but she is still unaware of what's happening."

"Are you sure that's not a bit extreme?"

"No. You can easily remove it with the trigger word said backwards, Ytilaer."

"Reality?"

"Shhh! Don't say it. If she hears it, the enchantment will wear off. She was starting to question our motives. And it's apparent that our problem is not going to leave her alone until we break him. It's the only way to get her to comply."

_"They're talking about me!" _She concluded.

"Are you sure you're not just doing this for your own benefit?"

"I am doing it for my own benefit. Along with hers and yours. We stop him, you get her."

"I see." He said smugly.

They continued to talk with no farther worries from the albino. But Mabel did not hear the rest of it. She felt sick, reeling. An icy cold washed over her, it felt as if things were just beginning to process in her mind. The whole world whited out in roaring pain as she realized the meaning of what they had just said. The shock over came her, and she felt her knees buckle beneath her. Dipper, the one person she believed she could trust...

The next thing she was aware of was the ground rushing to meet her.

* * *

She did not know how long she had been out for. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? The shock of what she had discovered began to wear off. She could not mull over what they had said, or what this all meant to her. Right now, she needed to get away from them.

There were no tears, she would let them fall later. Now, she needed to figure out what to do next. If they found out, they would obviously do something more drastic to keep her subdued. But how could she keep this all to herself? The answer was clear. She couldn't. She would have to leave them behind. Mabel listed her options, to which there only one. Would Pacifica be willing to let her stay?

There was only one way to find out. Walking back in the way she had come, Mabel pulled herself back through the hole. Staring down at herself, she realized she was covered in grass and mud. Not only would she have to change, she would have to go back inside. Back in with them. The brunette took a deep breath and headed back inside.

She passed by the two, who paused talking as she went by them.

"Hey Mabel." They both greeted.

"What happened to you?" Dipper asked.

"Oh I was out gardening." She lamely excused.

"Oh."

She made sure to smile back, and tried to slide past them.

"Oh, um Mabel. I was wondering if you would like to go out for lunch sometime?"

_"Ugh. No way in hell."_

"As long as it's ok with Dipper." She said blandly, making sure to shoot a hopeful look at him.

"Sure, it's fine with me." Her brother replied.

Mabel faked another submissive nod before heading off to her room.

"See? I told you it would work." Dipper whispered.

"I can tell, I can tell..."

* * *

After taking a shower, she manged to collect her thoughts. She would pack her things and leave them here as to not alert them she was gone. She would go into town and find Pacifica. With any luck, she would say yes, or have some suggestions for her. If not... She certainly hoped she would not have to go there. She would then pick up her things before sneaking away.

Throwing in a few shirts, Mabel heard a voice behind her say;

"Planing on running away?"

Startled, she turned to face Bill, who was leaning on the window sill.

"If you're really interested, yes." She replied curtly.

"I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way."

"I bet you are." She replied.

"You're in denial." He informed her.

"So?"

"It's not going to be pretty when the real shock set in. Are you prepared?"

"You seem to have forgotten you have no business on the roof. And don't you remember what happened because you were afterwards?"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad."

"You nearly passed out."

"Nonsense, you're imaging things." Bill said hastily. "Anyways, I came here because I still owe you."

"It's a bit late for breakfast." She said pointedly.

"I know, so I thought we'd do lunch instead?" He asked hopefully.

Mabel shuddered at this, remembering that she had been forced to agree to go with Gideon sooner or later. But, time out of the house would be nice, even though she found him no more trustworthy than her brother at the current time.

"I'll go," she began hesitantly, "But I don't trust you any more than them."

"I wouldn't expect you to." He breezily said, hiding his disappointment.

"Good. Now move out of the way, I'm not walking past those two again."

* * *

After climbing out the window, the two stealthily made their way to the town. Arriving at the diner, they seated themselves in one of the darker corners, should anyone see them. Lazy Susan took their orders and left the two with promises of no coffee surprises in their meals.

"There is no way you can continue to take all this insanity. How about we talk as if all this crazy stuff has never taken place, forget for a bit?Just two fr- acquaintances talking." The demon suggested.

"Sure. I'll start." She paused a moment before saying, "What have you been up to here recently?"

He chuckled a bit and said;

"Heh. You'll love this. I've been working for the Gravity Falls police division."

Mabel gaged on her coffee.

"Have you been... learning much?"

"You could say that. Where the best deals on doughnuts are, how to sleep on the job without being caught. But I'm not often around the competent, large, two-man police force. I work as the only forest ranger in four hundred kilometers or so."

"Why forest ranger?" She asked.

"It gives me an excuse to wander around the woods. I like the outdoors, animals typically don't try to maul me to death even though I'm a demon, and I get free coffee at the diner."

They lapsed back into silence, albeit a comfortable one. The blond started to wonder how she could remain so calm with what were such startling relevations. In denial yes, but wasn't she a bit too happy, a bit too calm? What if this was some sort of sick joke between the three, an attempt to get rid of him? But rather than voice his paranoid thoughts to her, he asked;

"You know, I never found out how you trained you pig so well, it's amazing what he can do with such stubby legs."

"The secret is food. Lots and lots of food."

"I suppose that's enough to bribe anyone really."

They shared a laugh at this, both remembering one particular moment involving Waddles and food.

"I have to say by far he loves caramel apples the most though."

The brunette nodded in agreement before launching into the story chain of events that ended up scaring Robbie, resulting in him spilling hot water on his pants, causing them to shrink.

"He really couldn't move?" Bill asked gleefully.

"Not one inch! His pants were so tight, it was more like a straight jacket for his legs. Eventually, Stan made us cut them off before someone sued."

They paused speaking as Lazy Susan brought their food and narrated winking at the blond.

"Here's your food handsome. Wink!"

His smile became a little more forced at this, as he was obviously creeped out by the elderly woman. Rather than eat, they continued to converse.

"That reminds me. Would you like to visit Stan afterwards?"

Once again, Mabel choked on her coffee.

"People really need to stop asking me such big questions when I'm drinking,"

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a date. As in a time. Errr... You know what I mean!"

He gave a knowing smile, a friendly one, before starting to eat. She did likewise, wondering to herself what she was doing, consorting with him. If Dipper found out- The young woman shook her head. There must have been some traces of that enchantment left over. It didn't matter what he thought, she was her own person, and she could do as she wished. But what if-

_"That's it! There must be some way to fully get rid of this! Maybe he knows..."_

"Does _tuus cogitatione _mean anything to you?" She asked him.

He gave her a startled look.

"Where'd you hear that?" He inquired.

"I heard Dipper and Gideon talking about it..." She trailed off.

Leaning back in his chair, the demon began;

"Well it's a Latin phrase that roughly translates to a few things. _Tuus _meaning your, and_cogitatione _meaning something along the lines of thoughts, opinions. _Your thoughts, _if you will. Basically, it's an obedience spell, albeit a mellow one. Well, maybe only mellow on your point of view. Some would rather not be able to remember the things they had to do while. It goes away after you've heard the trigger word in reverse. But effects still linger for a day or two-" He froze, realizing what he was saying. "Oh, they-"

Sadly, she nodded.

"Oh Mabel, I'm so sorry."

"That's not going to make me trust you. Especially after what you did on Friday." She said coldly.

"Was I asking you to trust me?"The blond replied, still feeling the sting in her words.

"Here's the bill." Lazy Susan interrupted, setting the bill on the table.

The blond went over the check and made sure to leave a tip before walking outside. Mabel followed, unsure as of what to do now. She saw him walking off down the road, she quickly speed up and matched her steps to his.

"Thank you for the lunch." The young woman said softly.

With out looking back at her, he brusquely said;

"You're welcome."

"Ummm, are we going to visit Stan?"

"I don't know, are we? You'd have to _trust me_ in order to visit him. Seeing as I'd have to drive you to the next town, about forty five minutes of no one except for me and the woods. Which you obviously would refuse because you won't believe me."

"Dramatic sarcasm doesn't work on you." The brunette supplied. "I'll go."

* * *

"Is it really necessary to keep the siren on?!" Mabel yelled above the police car's siren.

"Completely!" The demon yelled back, "It keeps traffic away!"

"Isn't this illegal?"

"Probably! But seeing as everyone else does it, I'm not concerned!"

He continued to speed down the highway, smiling to himself at her nervous demeanor. It had taken a while, but he had gotten her away from those two. She had no where else to go back to now, she would finally begin to see his side of the story. She would fall into his arms and things would go back to the way they were.

He felt slightly concerned about how she was able to continue after discovering this all, and still hold some belief that her brother could always have other intentions. What would happen to her when she managed to snap? What if she went around the bend, and he lost her forever?

He stared out fixated on the road ahead of him. The roads here were older and needed maintenance, he winced as the cruiser rolled over a pot hole. Maybe he was going a little fast. That is if fast was forty kilometers above the speed limit of one hundred was a little fast. The blond smiled as Mabel noticeably relaxed when he slowed down.

"Can you keep an eye out for a sign that says when the next exit is?"

"Like the one we just passed that I couldn't see because you were lead-footing?"

"Yes." He said, quickly turning off the road and onto an exit.

Here he turned off the siren, it seemed this small town was fairly normal, and the police force competent.

"How do you even know where Stan is staying?" Mabel asked.

"I know everything." He answered bluntly. "Well, not really. It's just the way I like to answer that particular question."

The young woman rolled her eyes at this, but could not help but grin. Soon enough, they pulled up to an aging red brick building. It looked more like an older mansion than a retirement home, with older slightly peeling paint and dusty windows. The lawn was perfectly manicured, and all Mabel could think was;

_"Stan must hate it here."_

"Let's just say he's not crazy about it." Bill said, guessing what she was thinking.

They walked up the creaky wooden steps, and looked at the double doors. Hesitantly, the brunette pushed the door bell. A single chime ran through the house and they heard someone's footsteps hurriedly come to the door.

"Hi! Welcome to Shady Oaks retirement home for the criminally insane and pirates!" A chirpy voice answered.

The first thing Mabel did was wonder how It was possible to wear so much pink with out going colour blind. The second thing she did was ask;

"Criminally insane? Pirates?"

"It adds to the title." The cheerful woman explained, her smile brightening.

After a few more seconds of staring through all the pink, she was able to tell that the woman working was fairly young, and even her hair was dyed a shocking pink.

"I'm here to visit my great-uncle St-"

"-andford Pines?" The creepy woman finished, "He's out back playing cards."

"Have a great day!" She announced before slamming the door.

"How did she-"

"It's better not to wonder." The demon explained.

They walked along the porch, leading them to the back. The back yard was exactly like the front, perfect in an unnerving way. There were a few large maple trees in the back, casting shade over the few people who were outside.

"There he is." He said, pointing to a table on the patio.

Several elderly men sat around the table, casting suspicious glances at their opponents over their cards. Stan was siting with her back to her, attempting to slip an ace into his hands without the others noticing. With a barely noticeable wave of the hand, Bill changed on of them into an ace of spades. Startled by this, Stan turned around.

"Mabel?" He asked.

Tears welling in her eyes, she nodded. She ran up to her great-uncle and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"You're better." The old man said astonished.

"Didn't you know?" The young woman asked.

"No." He replied, returning the bear-hug.

"Guys, this is my great niece Mabel, and her fiancé." Stan introduced to the other men.

They all gave their acknowledgements before taking this as their hint to leave. They gave their promises of continuing the card game later and shuffled else where. They both took two of the formerly taken seats and looked at Stan.

"Errr Stan," The demon started, "We're not engaged anymore."

For the second time in the past week, Bill found himself being hoisted by the collar and forced uncomfortably close to someone's face. He wrinkled his nose able to smell the Pitt Cola on Stan's breath.

"Why?" Stan asked dangerously. "If you've hurt my great-niece in any way by doing this..."

"Grunkle Stan! Stop." She chided. "When I woke up I didn't have any memories of the past few months. I can't marry someone who I have no memory of."

The great-uncle sheepishly let go of the blond's shirt collar, and gave a hasty apology.

"'S all right. I never really needed to breath in the first place."

"So where's that bratty nephew of mine?" Stan questioned, hastily changing the subject.

"Well, from what I can tell, he's been plotting something with Gideon." Mabel began.

"And denial isn't just a river." Bill cut in.

"I'm not in denial!" She denied in a very ironic twist of words.

"It hasn't set in on her yet what's really going on. I could barely persuade her that she could trust me more than her brother and company. "

"That's because I-"

"So what has my oh-so wonderful great-nephew been up to?"

"Oh he's been off trying to finish your work with short-stack no less."

Stan shook his head and said;

"Well that explains why he was so eager to get me out of the shack. I hate to think of those two idiots runs my stuff and trying to build that gateway. I hid One far away, yet they're still trying."

_"What?! They're not even listening to me!" _

"It seems so. He's been really protective of Mabel too for some reason. I think he doesn't want her to remember. Maybe about me, seeing as he nearly killed me after I talked to her."

"And after I was finally starting to accept you too."

"You were?" The demon asked, beaming.

"What? You want to rub it in my face?"

"I was killing myself trying to get your blessings in marriage!"

"I could tell. I was mainly taking advantage of your amazing ability to kiss up to people. You really do care about her. Hard to belive as I've known you for how long now?"

"A few decades I'd say. Do you mind if I leave you two alone for a bit so you can catch up?"

"Go head, beat it... Kiddo."

He walked away, muttering something about being called kiddo, and how he was a grown man.

"So how quickly can we bust you out of this crazy house? Right now? Because we could do it right now, and escape in the car." Mabel said eagerly.

"Whoa. Slow down kid! You're not breaking me out of here."

"What? But you hate people your age, and in general! And there's that crazy lady-"

Stan took his great-niece's hands, and said;

"I'm not leaving. It was time for me to retire, I'm eighty eight years old."

Mabel found tears welling in her eyes, as she stuttered;

"B-but what about t-the s-shack?"

"Burn it, cave it in. But what ever you do, don't let your brother keep it, and don't sell it."

Just then, the employee who gad answered the door, skipped over to them.

"Visiting hours are now over!" She chirped,"But make sure to come back soon!"

The two Pines shared a look of nervousness at how someone could be so cheery and not blink.

"Well then, I better get going." Mabel said, trying not to cry.

"You stay out of trouble kiddo. And next time you visit, bring me my trick cards! I can't cheat anyone here!"

* * *

The ride home was fairly silent. Mabel did not want to belive that Stan could possibly enjoy retirement, and the company of people his age. True, he wanted to cheat several of their bingo money, but it just didn't make sense! Not only that, he seemed to have known what Dipper was up to with barely any worries at all. How could he be so uncaring over something like that? Theories flew through her mind. Maybe he was more sick than she had realized, perhaps he was just senile in old age. Why else would he talk to Bill as if he wasn't, well Bill?

It was fairly late by the time she had made it home, eleven give or take. So, she walked through the front door and past the darkened gift shop. So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even think to sneak back in the shack again until someone switched on the lights.

"I never heard you leave." Dipper said, deathly calm.

"I went out." Mabel informed him.

"Where?" He asked.

It was better to tell half-truths, she realized. So Mabel replied;

"I visited Stan."

"How was it?" The young man questioned dangerously.

"Oh we talked." She said, trying to escape his interrogation.

"About what?"

"Just a few trivial things. He seems a little senile though, I'm worried."

"About what?" He repeated, walking closer to her.

Mabel's nervousness was beginning to be replaced with annoyance. What right did he have figuring out every detail of her life? Rather than answer with the submissive cover she should have used, the brunette snapped;

"Are you sure you're doing all this for my own good, and not yours?"

"Mabel what are you talking about?" He tried to laugh it off.

"Dipper, I heard your conversation between you and Gideon."

Instantly, a shadow crossed his face, and any attempt at remaining calm an amiable vanished.

"You heard _what_?!" He inquired between gritted teeth.

"Why reality Dipper? Did you find some ironic cruelty in it? Did it amuse you?"

_Slap!_

Suddenly, the world turned red for a moment and a stinging pain spread throughout one of her cheeks. Shocked, Mabel raised a hand to the spot where Dipper had slapped her. Her mind drew a blank. She was unsure of what happened next. All she could remember was the forest scenery passing by her as she fled, while someone's angry cries followed far behind.

**_6.9. 22. 5. 4.1. 25. 19..._**


	7. Waking Up (Yet Again)

**Hey guys, my _wonderful_ father refuses to tell me whether or not there will be internet and such. We'll just have to play it by ear. So, if there isn't any, I will see you on the 18th or 19th where I promise I will update. Oh well, at least I can become more close with the people I've probably only met thirty times in my life. **

**Also, shout out to Gravity Falls MD for finding the perfect song to relate to this! _I'll post the song name and such here_ as soon as MD tells me. Tell me. Tellmetellmetellmetellme!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Shocked, Mabel staggered through the woods. Had it happened, had her brother really done so? Admitted to his guilt? The searing pain in her cheek suggested it was most certainly so. There was no way she could deny what was going on around her. Lies and manipulation, from of all people too. One single question stood in her mind. Why? Why would he be willing to use her as if she were nothing more than a tool, a bargaining chip?

And now, who could she turn to? Where could she flee when every one was out to get her? How would she cope with the obvious realization? That in Gravity Falls, not everything was what it seemed. That in Gravity Falls, there was no one you could trust. _TRUST NO ONE!_ The journals has said. Mabel began to tear up at this. They were probably the cause of this all, they always were.

The young woman yelped as she found herself tripping and falling. She landed in a stream, the frigid water washing around her. Mabel pulled herself up from the muddy reeds, and tried to wash the silt off of her hands. As she scrubbed off the gritty stuff, she became aware of a strange numbness spreading through her hands.

_"The cold." _She realized.

How pleasant it was. The water's freezing embrace washing away the pain, whisking away what she did not want to believe. Staring down at her bent reflection that was how she felt. Transparent, as if what she thought was of no importance at all. The burning spot on her cheek felt even more hot and stinging against the cool of the water. She placed a freezing hand against the spot and sighed in relief as it numbed the pain. This cold, it was nice, it hid away the pain. Maybe, if she stayed, it would take away hers.

Slowly, she laid down in the shallows of the water. It tugged a little at her hair, but was otherwise comfortable. It was nice here, the water trickled past with barely a sound and the life of the forest was still. The world was quiet here.

The young woman took deep breaths, allowing the cold to slowly take over her. Just then, she heard the familiar squealing of Waddles. Her pig crashed through some bushes, having evidently followed her. The pig trotted over to his owner and tried to nudge her out of the water, but she refused to budge.

"Stop it." She commanded her pig.

In a frenzy, he continued to try and nudge Mabel away from the water.

"Go home Waddles." She told him.

"Oink?" He asked.

"I said, go home."

Waddles realized there was nothing he could to when her mind was made up like this. He couldn't do much because he wasn't a human. Where was that other man who liked him? Would he know what to do? The pig licked Mabel's hand, assuring her that he would be back. He scampered off, wondering where he could find the man.

After a rather brisk trot, Waddles found himself in the town. He was a little nervous, due to the fact that predators and barbecuers were common, but he had to find the strange yellow man. He would know what to do about his owner. He was smart for a human being, even if the man couldn't understand him very well. But he liked him, he was always trust-worthy, intentions set out before him. Not to mention the fact that he often fed him while companion who looked like her would forget. Eventually, after a few run-ins with the town crazy, he picked up the familiar voice.

"Seriously?!" The yellow man asked. "This is the third time they've parked in the no parking zone this hour!"

Squealing in panic, the pig ran up to him giving a few headbutts before running off again.

"Slow. Down. Little. Pig! I can't run that fast!" A voice behind him said.

_"Humans." _Waddles thought with a roll of the eyes.

He had run both ways and wasn't tired at all. Oh well, it wasn't really his fault, one could not help being a human. Slowing town to a trot, he looked behind him to make sure the man was still following him.

"I'm still here." He assured. "On a scale of oink to silence, how much danger is she in?"

The pig shook his head. He didn't have time to play that annoying game of yes or no with him! How was he supposed to know how these human things worked?! All he knew was that something seemed wrong and sinister. At this reminder, he put on an extra dash of speed while re-tracing his steps. What if he couldn't find her again? Would the water would wash away most traces of her scent?

But he would not need to worry, as the man saw where she was from where he stood. Gasping in horror, he ran over to his owner and dragged her out of the water.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mabel was enjoying the calm of the area around here. She couldn't feel much anymore, it was nice. Rather than feeling cold, a sort of pleasant warmth had spread through her. She did not feel the need to move, it was comfortable and made her feel sleepy. Slowly she closed her eyes. As she drifted out of consciousness, she heard someone calling her name. Maybe it was someone who cared. Perhaps she would wake up somewhere better...

* * *

Where was she now? Was it a better place? She found spots swimming at the edge of her vision, and she felt uncomfortably cold. But why was she? How could the water have betrayed her? Everything always betrayed her, she no longer felt it's numbing coolness. As her sight cleared for a moment, she saw because she was no longer in the forest. She seemed to be on a bed, this was all she could tell before she fell back into her dark unconsciousness. She was unsure of how long she had been out for, through her feverish haze she remembered things.

"One oh five, definite fever dearest."

"Oh Mabel dearest, Mabel dear. What were you doing there?" A voice asked.

She felt someone placing a hand on her head, smoothing back her hair. It was soothing at first, but began to rub her the wrong way.

"Stop." She found herself moaning, and then yelling.

She found someone holding her, practically smothering her in an attempt to calm her down. A voice whispering in her ear;

"Shhh. Oh Mabel what are you doing to yourself?"

The voice changed from a whisper into a screaming yell, and back into a whisper again. She was unsure of what could possibly happening to her. Things were surreal around her, changing from the normal into the impossible. Her vision swimming before her eyes.

Dipper and Gideon, jeering at her, calling her names. Joking at her extensibility, reminding her what she was to them. Others would join in, circling around her, taunting her. She would whimper at this, screaming and shuddering. As she did this, she felt the crushing embrace return along with the whispers into her hair.

"I'm going to get this temperature down if it kills me!"

She did not know how much time passed, sometimes it was light, sometimes it was dark. Sometimes it was both at the same time, stars glittering in a bright blue sky, but the sky would change into someone's eyes, staring intently at her. Eventually, she could make out what was happening to her.

She was sick, a fever. From the water someone told her. But she knew that wasn't true, people always lied, there was no one she could trust. No one but the cold that would take away the pain, that kept her away from the hurt. But any time she tried to stay with it, someone pulled her back.

"Just let me die. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Lips pressed against her neck and muttered;

"I'm not loosing you, not again."

She continued to shiver and freeze, but the cold would refuse to become pleasant again.

"We're getting there dearest, we're at one-oh-three."

One day she found herself being forced to stand on shaky legs, lead else where. Someone commanded her to put something on, she managed to somehow.

"Good girl, I'm going to lift you into the bath tub now ok?"

She must have consented, because suddenly she was surrounded by the water again. But it wasn't cold, it was steaming hot. She did not try fighting against it, but she continued to wish for the cold until she was dry and shivering again.

One day as she stared off into the distance, she realized something. Her aches and pains were gone, things seemed fairly normal around her, she could even see clearly. She was in a bed room, one that evoked a sense of happy familiarity.

There was a wide window off to one side, covered by curtains, and a bookshelf off to one of the light green wall's side. From what she could tell, the room had a silver, grey, and green theme to it. The queen-sized bed she was on had green covers, while the shaggy carpet around the bed was grey.

Discovering that she could make these simple observations, her coherent thoughts and reasoning came back too. She wasn't dead, was she? If so, now what? It did not seem that reasonable to her though. Where was she, and when? The date, the time?

With a sort of blind panic, she began to wonder if she had forgotten something again. What was there to recount? She knew who she was, that the Earth went around the sun, blindness was something that affected the eye, and gravity caused things to fall. She could recite the states and their capital cities, recall her earliest memories and beyond. She knew that somewhere along the line, she had lost three months of memories, been in a coma for another three, and woke up.

Afterwards, her brother had...

The young woman faded off from her remembering here. Her brother was untrustworthy, and so was everything else. Everyone was out to exploit whatever she could possibly do for them. Nothing and no one could possibly be on her side. She was all alone in this harsh reality, and she would never be able to leave it behind.

Just then, her tormentor who had kept her alive through her sickness walked into the room. She really had woken up in hell hadn't she?

"W-what do you want from m-me?" Mabel stuttered.

"What a happy welcoming." He muttered under his breath.

But he could not really blame her for being a little nervous. She had been sick, and it looked like she had finally accepted that her brother was a lying snot-ball. But as he sat down on the edge of the bed and Mabel shivered, he realized something more seemed to have upset her.

"Mabel," He paused, astounded as she flinched at her name, "What happened to you?"

"W-why do you w-want to know? Are you going to use it against m-me?"

"Mabel, what are you talking about?" He asked.

"You're going to do something horrible to me aren't you? You told me you would see me in hell and now I'm here!" She cried.

Here, she burst into tears, refusing to say anything more. The blond tried to feel her forehead, but she shuddered and pushed away from his hand. Clearly, there was something wrong with her, the young woman was shaking, hysterical, and was going on paranoid about something.

Despite her struggling, he firmly grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. The young woman refused to make eye contact with him, keeping her eyes screwed shut, only allowing a few tears to escape.

"What happened after you went home?" He softly questioned.

She kept silent and shook her head.

"What happened?" The blond repeated. "Mabel, you can tell me."

It took several minutes of coaxing and pleading. For a brief moment, he managed to break through.

"He s-slapped me." She whispered.

"What?!" He fiercely asked.

The brunette whimpered at this and tried to move away from him.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I just- how could he-"

"You're not sorry." She sobbed.

"What? Mabel I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to use that tone."

"Yes you did, you're lying."

She pushed away his arms and hid her head under one of the pillows. He could not bring her to do anything more, so he quietly said;

"I have to leave for work, there are only so many sick days I can take. I'll be back around five."

He sighed as she did not reply, and walked out of the room. The demon nearly tripped over Waddles who was sitting outside the door.

"She's getting better." He half-told the pig.

Waddles tilted his head and gave him a slightly skeptical look, knowing he would end up telling the truth either way.

"Stay out of trouble little pig!" He hastily called, walking out the door.

_"What's your definition of trouble?" _The pig thought to himself. _"Oh well, I should probably see how bad it is myself."_

* * *

He tried to busy himself with work, but there wasn't exactly a lot of crime to prevent in Gravity Falls. Now that Stan was gone, even more so. He found himself easily worrying about Mabel. Should he have really left her at home while she was sick and obviously still traumatized over something? Gravity Falls only competent police officer shivered at the memories of her begging to be left to die in her semiconscious state. If she had truly meant it, what if she tried something while he was out?

"You realize you're writing a ticket for your own car, right?" Pacifica asked as she walked by.

"Ah! What? No I'm not!" The blond snapped, startled out of his daze.

The mayor stopped and rolled her eyes.

"Unless you're impersonating an officer, that's your car."

The demon looked down at the ticket he was writing, and indeed realized it had taken him fifteen minutes to write a ticket for; _"Who ever the hell decided to parallel park in a **no parking zone **while in front of a god damned **fire**** hydrant**_ _to boot."_ Seeing the extensively long name on the slip of paper, he sheepishly crumpled it up and stuffed it in his pocket.

"You look like a mess." The Northwest heiress informed him, "Perhaps a coffee break is required?"

"I can't, too many sick days already."

"Well then, as the mayor of Gravity Falls I command you to accompany me to get a coffee before you die of exhaustion."

He sleepily nodded and followed behind her, trying to stay awake. Seating themselves in the diner, they waited for Lazy Susan to bring them their coffee.

"So how's Mabel doing?" She asked softly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied instinctively.

"Bill, you filled the police report to me, remember?"

"At this rate, no. I've been awake for the past seventy-two hours."

"Why?"

"She was sick with a fever, freezing cold when I found her too."

"Softie." She remarked, punching his arm.

Rubbing his arm, he shook his head.

"She's not getting better though."

"What's wrong?"

"She's all jittery and nervous, I can't figure out why though."

Sipping her drink the woman asked;

"Are you sure?"

"Well," he began shifting uncomfortably in his seat, "She said something about Dipper slapping her."

Pacifica gasped and shook her head.

"No, not Dipper." She whispered.

"There was a mark on her face when I found her."

"No..." She trailed off.

"Yes." He curtly replied, "Do you think you could stop by later?"

"Of course, of course! If you didn't I'd invite myself in."

He sighed, his shoulders trembling a little. He gave a weak smile and said;

"Thanks."

The two friends gave their farewells before heading off in their own direction.

* * *

Mabel woke up again. She tried to keep her head under the pillow, shielding herself from anything that might have been after her. The young woman knew she couldn't keep herself shut out right now, she needed to find her way out of here.

_"Come on Mabel, you need to leave before he comes back!" _She commanded herself.

Slowly, she pulled the pillow away from her face. It was still light out, and no one seemed to be around. Dare she try to move now? If she had been in bed for a while, she would have trouble trying to move. The young woman began to shudder again. If she couldn't escape this time... No one knew where she was, but there was no one to care either...

"Oink!"

Waddles pulled himself onto the bed (An amazing feat considering his stubby legs.) and nudged his owner's hand. He inwardly smiled as she gave him a few pats and softly began to talk to him. Really, it was more at him, but it was nice all the same.

"We need to get out of here Waddles, before he come back." The young woman whispered to him.

Waddles tilted his head, confused. Why would she want to leave? Surely she would not want to go back to that look-alike of hers? Couldn't she sense that she was safe here?

_"Well of course she can't." _He admonished, _"Humans are rarely good at that sort of thing. I'll just have to let her find out slowly."_

He curled up next to her, wondering why she was so warm. Shouldn't she be cold after being in the water for so long? It did not really matter that much to him anyways, as long as she was safe, he was fine. Slowly, he began to drift off, feeling cozy in between the woman and all the blankets. Normally, the yellow man never let in on the bed...

The pig woke up as he heard her shrill scream. Startled, he leaped to his feet and looked at her curiously.

"Waddles, he handcuffed me to the bed, I'm stuck!" She sobbed.

Mabel continued to panic, attempting to pull her ankle free. She froze, wondering why he would bother to keep her locked up. The reason that first struck her made the woman struggle even more. Oh gods, he was going to do something to her. The young woman nearly screamed as she recalled the memory of what he had said.

_"Maybe I'll keep you around..."_

This was just his twisted way of letting her discover it on her own. He was going to hold her here, and do who knew what else to her. Mabel shivered at the memory of his confrontation in the forest. He had been so close, she could feel his breath mingling with her panicked ones, he had stared at her with an almost studious look. It was as if he had planned this all along, opening her eyes to all the tricks around her. He would have expected her to finally trust him after all this, but she knew better than that. She would find a way out of here before he could have her all to himself.

She tried again to pry at the handcuff, but with was stuck fast around her ankle. Just then, she heard the sound of someone unlocking the front door.

"Hey little pig I'm back!" She heard Bill call.

Not hearing the usual oink in reply, the demon curiously asked;

"Waddles?"

Still receiving no reply, he walked over to his bedroom. Surprising, the first thing he noticed was that Waddles was on the bed. Shaking a finger at the pig, he said;

"How many times have I told you not to sleep on my bed? This is the exact opposite of staying out of trouble you!"

Waddles gave an oink that meant something along the lines of;

_"Don't you have other things to be fussing over?"_

The pig then gave a look over at Mabel, who now had her arms crossed as she tried to seem defiant.

"W-what's up with t-this?" She asked, raising her leg.

"Oh." He began sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, you really tossed and turned when you were sick, and I got kicked five too many times when trying to take your temperature."

"So, could you take it off?" The brunette ventured cautiously.

"Or course dearest, " She flinched as he called her that. "Why would I not?"

Mabel looked down at Waddles, and stroked his nose.

"So, you're not going to rape me?"

"What?! Of course not!"

Too soon he tried to hug her, Mabel flinched away and pulled herself as far away as possible. Inwardly, he screamed at himself.

"Don't touch me!" She yelped.

_"Too direct, she's still too nervous."_

Carefully, he pulled out the key and unlocked the cuff. Mabel watched his every movement doing this, inching farther away according to how close or quick he did things.

"Are you hungry? You've haven't really eaten much in the past three days."

She did not reply. The blond gave a weary sigh, already tired from not sleeping for the past few days. His patience was wearing thin. So with out worrying about what she would do, he picked her up bridal style and carried her to the kitchen. He set her down on one of the kitchen chairs, not bothering to apologize for frightening her.

"You can't have to much or you'll upset your stomach." He informed her, placing a box of chipackers next to her.

She even jumped by his simple action of placing the box, and he began to wonder how severe her paranoia was. Clearly, he would need to call Doctor Hirsch regarding her. The blond felt a little guilty at what he was about to say, but he had to get the message across to her.

"It's not poisonous. You have to eat something. Or else." He commanded.

Hesitantly, she took a chip flavoured cracker and ate it.

"I'll be back." He muttered before striding out of the room.

Picking up the land line, he said aloud to himself;

"Six one eight..."

"Hirsch here." A voice answered.

"Hey Alex."

"What? Need dating advice again?"

"No." He muttered, blushing a little. "And I only asked you because Stan's advice would have gotten me arrested before it worked."

"So why did you call then?"

Quickly, he explained the whole dilemma to the elderly man.

"How legal is this?"

"Didn't you grow up in Gravity Falls?"

"You could say that."

"What's your diagnosis? Will she need a psychologist to help her get better?"

"Yes, she will. It's horrible what's happened to her. I've known the Pines since the beginning of my career, I brought the into to the world you know. Mabel's always trusted her brother and visa-versa. If it wasn't for him, she would still be impossibly shy and nervous you know. I still remember the first time I tried to check her reflexes, my leg still hurts when I remember it. Those two were always close, so finding out the hard way would put her into shock, she's jittery and paranoid right?"

"Yes."

"Naturally, without her brother to keep her from being shy, her mind has sort of, reset if you will. She'll be more nervous around others like when she was younger. Paranoia on top of amnesia. Mabel, Mabel, Mabel..."

"Who would you recommend then?"

"You have your psychology degrees don't you?"

He shook his head, not liking where this was going.

"No. Alex I can't-"

"Son. You manipulated my thoughts to keep her alive past the forty days."

"What are you talking about?!" He tried to deny.

"Like I said, I practically grew up in Gravity Falls. And let me tell you, I know lots of things."

Bill shook his head in disbelief. How was that even possible?

"It's better not to think to hard about it." Alex explained. "Now where was I? You can do this. She's going to need someone to help her through this all, and you're just the person for it. You're caring, loyal, and a complete softie."

"I wish everyone would stop calling me soft. And there's no way that's going to work. She sort of hates me."

"What's that? I think we're breaking up!"

"No Alex wai-"

"Talk to you later, don't you dare give up on her bye!"

The doctor hung up the phone, leaving the man to wonder how he was going to this, and why the doctor sounded so much like him when hanging up.


	8. A Place to Hide

*gasps for air* I only have a short time... the wifi here costs money... the horror! Alisi I'll try to reply later, sometime on the late weekend. Sorry I must go this author's note is the one I write right before I post the story.

******So maybe I was wrong about the Hirsch's not making a return. I think Alex is going to take a bigger role in the story, I just love having him confuse Bill, because Bill's all like; "Why do you sound like me?" and Alex will be all; "I know lots of things." Which will farther freak out him. I just enjoy Alex pointing out the fourth wall to the reader. Or, would it be 5th in this case?**

**Ohhh you people are still too trusting for your own good, it's adorable really! Thank you for all your positive responses to the story so far! Trust issues, trust issues, trust issues...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

_Running his fingers through her silky hair, he pulled her closer to him. He couldn't help but smirk as she tried to squirm away from him. He twirled a lock of her hair around his fingers, tugging her lips to his. He smiled, letting his lips against hers. She began to whimper, and try to push away from him again. He pushed her onto the floor enjoying her hurt expression._

_"J-just leave m-me alone."_

_"Why? Don't you love me anymore?" He teased._

_"N-no!" _

_He scowled, this was not the answer he wanted to hear. He picked her up off the floor and then raised a hand, planing to strike her. Then-_

Here he woke up screaming.

Ack! No!" Startled, he nearly rolled off the couch.

He managed to catch himself before he rolled onto the coffee table. Carefully, he pulled himself back onto the worn down sofa. Shivering, he wrapped the blanket farther around him. A cold sweat had broken out as he repeated to himself;

"It was just a dream, it was just a dream."

But it felt so real! The nightmares had been plaguing him ever since she had been hospitalized.

"Ahhh irony, you never cease to amaze me." He said alloud to himself.

He had always woken up before he had done the worst, hurting her, the damaging words, and on occasion, the violation. The fear that he could return to what he once was, that his darker streaks out come out.

He swiped away a few stray tears that had run down his face. Nothing he did would make the dreams leave him alone. What if it eventually became the truth? What if he ended up hurting her? He tried to calm his thoughts, not wanting to worry and just fall back to sleep, but couldn't.

Glancing over at the glowing clock on the wall, he saw it was a quarter to six, there was only ten minutes until he had to get up anyways. Stretching, he pulled himself off the couch and set on his morning routine. He tip toed past Mabel, (who he tried to avoid looking at as she slept)and quickly showered.

Then, he out on his uniform and headed back to his bedroom. He combed through his hair and slicked it back in the mirror (As the other one was too foggy to see through.) ignoring the fact that Mabel was now pretending to sleep. He made toast and coffee for himself and filled Waddle's water and food dishes.

The pig, who hadn't even bothered to wake up before, came running at the sound of his food. The man held the dish over the pig's head. Waddles looked up at him expectantly, wondering why his food wasn't in his reach. Shaking a finger down at him, the demon said;

"You better watch over her while I'm gone."

Waddles oinked, promising he would.

"Are you sure?"

"Oink!"

It might have meant;

"Just give me the food already!"

But he was pretty sure it confirmed he would behave. He got his keys and wallet. Before he left, he called;

"I love you Mabel!"

* * *

Mabel flinched as she head these words, wanting to pull the covers farther over her head. But she found that Waddles was walking around her, pawing at the blankets, something he would do when she was sleeping and he wanted to be fed.

"I'm up, I'm up." She muttered, her voice deep and raspy from being sick.

Slowly, the young woman pulled herself out of the bed. She her knees nearly buckled on her, but she stayed on her feet. Cautiously, she took a few baby steps. She could barely make it to the door with out being winded. Despondently, she realized there was no way she could escape until her strength returned. But how long would that take? Who knew what could happen to her in that time?

Waddles pushed open the door for her and lead her to where the the kitchen was. By this time, she was completely winded and had to lean against the marble kitchen counter. The pig gave a squeal and nudged her leg. To her surprise, there was a piece of paper in his mouth.

"What's that?" The brunette asked, pulling the paper from his mouth.

_So it seems you've gotten this note, meaning you're out of bed._

_1. Do not exert yourself, you've been bed ridden for a while now._

_2. Eat something before you turn to dust!_

_3. You should shower too, the white towels are the clean ones._

_4. The ebony dresser in the bedroom **something was blacked out here **is yours._

_5. Waddles has eaten. Do not let those eyes fool you,_

_I'll be back around 7._

Well that was slightly, disarming. She wondered how Waddles knew to get the note and not eat it instead too. Rereading the note, she realized how messy she felt. A shower would be nice. It felt like her hair was practically dripping grease, and her face was a mess of tear stains and sleep dust.

Quietly, she walked back to the bedroom and looked around. She opened the drawers he said belonged to her and gasped. One had several familiar sweaters and a few new ones, the other had her shirts, even a few favourites she could not understand why they had gone missing. There were shorts, skirts, and pants all mixed into one, and she saw there were her underthings and socks in the last one.

But how did he come across all these things? Had he snuck back into the shack? Had he been stalking her for months, finding exact copies of everything she wore? Pulling out a shirt and a skirt, she found that it could not be possible, because even the slightest detail, like a small tear in the skirt's hem was there? He really had been planning this for a long time...

Slightly more nervous now, the young woman entered the bathroom. For such a neat looking room, it was messy at the same time. A few towels were strewn across the white tiled floor, and the double-sinked counter was covered in hundreds of little things. Hair brushes, various brands of tooth paste, hairspray, combs, floss, soap, razors, and other miscellaneous things.

She took a long shower, scrubbing her hair till she no longer felt messy, ans shavedher legs. She was even more unnerved to find that her other toiletries, like her tooth brush amongst other things. Even her hair brush, which still had a few strands of her hair twisted around it. But far she found that the most disturbing.

How and where did he get these things from her? Theories and wild guess ran through her mind as she made herself some breakfast. They continued to follow her as she washed her hands afterwards. Soon, she began aware of something. The cold was back now. Maybe, it's numbing coolness could hide her away from any pain that was to come...

She probably would have continued with this train of thoughts if not for Waddles impatiently squealing. Annoyed, she turned off the freezing water and looked over to where her pig had his nose pressed against the sliding door.

"What?" She asked.

Waddles gave another squeal and showed that he wanted to go outside. Mabel walked over to the glass door and looked outside. The house seemed to be on a fairly steep hill, a forest bordered the property and there were familiar mountain formations in the back, indicating she was indeed still in Gravity Falls. Mabel gave a sigh of relief at this, it meant she would know her bearings.

Seeing no harm in letting Waddles wander around the property, she let him outside. Deciding to follow him, lest he roll down the fairly steep hill, she stepped out onto the wooden deck. It was still fairly early in the morning, but the day was already sunny and warm enough to have evaporated the morning dew. A few squirrels ran around in the longish grass, not bothering to pay attention to Mabel.

The deck was a meter or two off the ground, and a pair of steps led down to a stone patio on the lawn. The deck continued around the house where she found a porch swing and a few glass tables. Choosing shade over sun, Waddles seated himself under the swing and gave a content oink.

"Really? That's all? No big reveal?" She asked the pig.

_"What do you want be to do a backflip too? Go get some fresh air!" _

She sat down on the swing, wondering what in the world she was supposed to do next. From the spot where she was perched, the young woman could make see almost every thing around her. If her eyes were not decieving, that was the town in the distance. If anyone came up the hill, she would be able to see. She should take this into accounted when she escaped.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bill was trying to convince himself not to take a break. But there was nothing to do! Gravity Falls only real criminal mind was Stan. Couldn't someone at least park illegally? Aides from him that was... Why was it even illegal to park in front of a fire hydrant? There wasn't even a fire department! If Quentin Trembly was still alive, he'd have a bone to pick with that crazy.

He was already jittery from five double-double coffees, and he began to wonder if he was thinking straight. Was he even supposed to be on duty right now? What if it was his turn to watch for speeders? Or was it time for paperwork? Where had he left those files again? And then there were the eccentricities of Alex who insisted that he could help Mabel. Which made about as much sense as a negative twelve dollar bill, considering the fact that she hated him.

"Hello, Bill." Dipper said.

The demon flinched, nearly dropping his sixth coffee, but calmly replied;

"What's with the tone? I haven't even done anything...yet."

"Are you sure?"

"Fairly." He twisted. "Now if you excuse me, I must go get a refill of coffee."

"Pretending to work?"

"You say that like Blubs and Durland pull all the weight around around here."

"You mean you don't just abuse your power as an officer?"

"What? Of course I do! By the way, you're standing illegally on the curb." He handed the young man a ticket.

"That's not even a real law!" Dipper complained, ripping up and throwing away the ticket.

"Does the name Quieten Trembly mean anything to you?" He asked. "And by the way, that's another ticket for littering."

"I don't care!" Dipper snapped, waving his arms.

"And disrespect of an officer." Bill added, writing up another slip.

Dipper gave a frustrated scream.

"And disturbing the peace."

The boy grabbed the demon's collar and began;

"Look here, I know you're hiding something! And-"

"Assault of an officer." Bill added mildly.

Dipper ignored this comment and the coffee on his breath, continuing to speak.

"We have a deal. So keep up your end."

"I will as soon as you hold up yours... And pay for your tickets."

"How much?" Dipper snarled, pulling out his wallet.

Musing how much he had spent in coffee today, the only competent officer in Gravity Falls said;

"Two hundred big ones plus your credit card number."

"Bill you can't even fine people their credit card number, that's illegal!"

"You're challenging my authority again. That's an extra twenty."

Dipper wanted to scream in annoyance, but he didn't want to get fined for disturbing the peace again. Instead he gave one last scathing look at the demon before walking way declaring he would pay for them later. Bill watched this all amused, happy he could at least get back at him in some way or another.

* * *

Waddles looked up at Mabel, slightly concerned. She had been sitting her for a while now, and it did not seem she was asleep. She had sat through the hottest part of the day in the same position, only partially shielded by the house. Unbeknownst to the pig, she had been remembering smaller things though out all this time, and had remained frozen trying to make sense of things.

_"He's always been so nice, but why? How come I can't remember the other terrible things he's done?" _The young woman thought to herself.

All her memories of Dipper, little things; short conversations, a certain look, a peculiar glance at something. Seemed to click in a familiar sinister way. Things she did not understand before, short remarks that did not quite make sense all fell into place as she discovered how far he was willing to go with his selfish wants.

It broke her heart over and over again, wondering why he would pick the journals over her. Maybe he never did care for her, perhaps they were never really the mystery twins at all. If they didn't share a sibling bond, maybe she was never friends with Candy and Grenda, and wasn't close with Stan and her parents. Maybe they just saw her as a way to get what they wanted. Everything but the cold that was.

A chilly wind swept up from seemingly no where. The trees and grass rippled eerily, in an almost ghost-like fashion. This brought something to Mabel's attention. It was so quiet here, no birds were chirping and the rustling leaved barely made a whisper. The area was not devoid of life; The two squirrels were still running around in the grass, and several varieties of birds had swooped down to visit the bird bath on the patio, and she saw the gentle silhouettes of deer watching her from the shadows of the forest. All was at a stand still, as if waiting for something to happen.

"Baaaa!" Gompers bleated.

So surprised by this was she, Mabel jumped up and swore she felt her heart skip a beat. Catching her breath, Mabel sat back down while Gompers continued to stand expectantly in front of her.

"How is that even possible?" She asked herself. Then, Mabel realized what she had just said. "What am I even asking?! This is Gravity Falls!"

Gompers bleated again, and Waddles gave an oink of protest. Mabel stood up, feeling irate having been interupted from her thoughts again.

"I've had enough of this _Lassie, _Disney princes animal stuff to last me an entire life time! Waddles I'm going inside before my brain melts."

With that she went inside, sitting down at the kitchen table. She watched through the glass as the two animals shared a look. Mabel was alway sure her pig had been, well a regular pig. Roll around in the mud, one track mind kind of animal. Why did it seem like even her pig had something to hide?

Meanwhile, out on the deck Waddles gave a snort of annoyance and stomped a hoof. Darn goat! He was supposed to stay at the shack! Well, perhaps he was more jealous than annoyed. Mabel was his friend, not the other way around! Before either animal could do anything else, their ears perked up at the sound of someone driving up the hill.

_"The yellow man will be annoyed if he finds out you're not at the shack." _Waddles oinked.

Of course, neither could understand what the other was saying thanks to the language barrier. Gompers seemed to know what he had said though, because he turned tail and ran off into the woods. The man pulled up onto the gravel driveway and Waddles dutifully trotted over to him. But not even a hello was given to him as the man trudged inside. Waddles squeezed in behind him, hoping he would notice him. The pig watched annoyed as he and Mabel began to talk.

"I'm back." He said quietly.

"Where's you get all my stuff from?" Mabel asked, crossing her arms.

"You had brought it all here when you had moved in." He replied with a shrug.

"And how did Waddles get here? "

"He's a smart pig."

_"This smart pig would like to be acknowledged."_

"Did you get something to eat?"

Mabel nodded. The blond smiled. She seemed to be getting better already, not only from being sick but the trauma too. He did not want to ask her how she was feeling lest it drive her off, but it was progress. Even if she was acting cold to him at the moment, he had gotten her to open up before and he could do it again. Maybe Alex was less crazy than he let on. Just then, Waddles decided to nuge past Mabel at the same time as she tried to walk. She tripped, but he managed to catch her preventing the would be accident.

She looked up at him, and he saw a familiar light in her eyes. She gave a petite sigh, letting him hold her closely for a second. But as soon as is came, it vanished. Suddenly it seened as if a switch had been thrown inside her brain.

"Don't touch me!"

She flinched, pushing his arms away. Her receded fears came back and she took a few steps backwards.

"Are you ok Mabel?" The blond asked softly. Mabel turned away and quickly walked out of the room.

_"Damn." _He muttered under his breath. One step forwards and a few millon back.


	9. He Who Control the Demon's Hat and Tie-

**Sorry if this chapter becomes a little confusing, but everything has a purpose my friends, everything has a purpose... But if you read the chapter title, and the cryptogram at the bottom, you'll find a useful hint as to what the hell I'm doing right now. Just you easy A123 cipher at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

_"W-wa- where am I?"_

_"Aww, I'm disappointed in you Pine Tree, don't you recognize your own mind?"_

Dipper looked around and saw indeed he was in his own familiar dreamscape, the endless Gravity Falls woods. He tried to figure out what was going on and why he was so confused. He felt a wave of dislike and dispare wash over him. What had he been doing? His actions, his memories... They were hazy, glassy as if he were not in control... A thought struck him. Oh gods, Mabel! He had, had slapped her! Why?!

"Dark, compulsively organized, ambitious, it's your mind all right!" A voice interrupted.

Startled, Dipper took a few steps back. He looked around the darkly lit forest, the trees more ancient and knotted than the real Gravity Falls. It only served to make it even harder to see where the voice was coming from.

"Why, I'm right here!" It answered his thoughts again.

Suddenly, a flash of bright yellow and black appeared in front of him. Dipper yelped and jumped backwards, he found himself falling on to his back. Pain shot through his spine, his tailbone began to throb leaving him to wonder whether or not he would be able to stand. Bill's grinning face came in to his field of vision. He placed a foot on his shoulder, preventing him from standing.

"It wouldn't surprise me, but you wouldn't want to be going anywhere when we have _so _much to talk about. Your sister for instances."

"Y-you leave her alone!" The twin stuttered.

"You're talking to me like I'm him. As if you can persuade _me _into doing what _you _want."

"B-but y-you're-"

"Him? So? So what?! I'm in the mind where I have my own free will."

"Oh, you're one to talk about free will." The young man manged to sarcastically cut back.

"Do you regret slapping her?" The blond interrogated.

Dipper flinched at the horrid reminder.

"D-don't-"

The blond smiled ever more dangerously, and forced more of his weight on the one shoulder he had pinned down..

"Oh I will remind you. We may have a deal in the real world, but I've got full control up here." He tapped his own forehead. "It's sad really how easily you gave in. You even overid your own caring for your sister. Your flesh and blood, Mabel. Your sister, Mabel. Your _twin _sister, Mabel."

"S-stop!"

"Poor Mabel Pines. Don't you remember the broken expression on her face? How shattered she was?"

"N-no m-more!"

"And guess who she turned to? Just guess!" He asked eagerly.

"No! S-she w-wouldn't-"

"No, not to me specifically." The demon twisted, not wanting to completely give everything away. "But know this. It won't be long, it won't be long until she comes running. It won't be long until she's mine. All mine."

"N-no! I'll find a way to stop me! I mean you! Whatever you are!"

"All this time and you can't even figure out what I am?"

He allowed Dipper to shake his head.

"Well then, go on. Ask." The demon stated in a terribly friendly tone.

"W-who are you?"

"Why Dipper, isn't it obvious? I'm you!"

* * *

Mabel was on the porch swing, while Waddles pulled himself onto another chair, hoping to receive some food should there be any on the table. Unfortunately for the pig, there wasn't anything for him. Mabel was just sitting in the sun as she stared down the hill.

She had to admit, it was a beautiful view from where she sat, but she was not there to admire the summer panorama. The house faced the town, and that was where he would first look for Gravity Falls was in a canyon, so she could not head in the opposite direction. It would be nearly impossible to cross the mountains, she would have to take the road leading out of the town.

Waddles gave a quiet snort and raised his head, looking down the gravely road. Mabel froze, wondering what had caught the pig's attention. A car pulled up onto the drive a few seconds later, and Pacifica stepped out. The blonde waved to her and called;

"Hi Mabel!"

From where she was sitting, the young woman flinched as if she could hurt her from ten meters away. She cautiously watched as the young woman came up the steps and walked over to her.

"Hi Mabel." She repeated.

She took a deep breath and gave a quiet;

"Hello."

Leaning against the porch railing, the Northwest heiress asked;

"How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Goodness Mabel! I knew he said you were going to be shy and jumpy, but this is a bit ridiculous!"

The blonde rolled her eyes as Mabel shivered again.

"No nervousness from you! My goal today is a proper conversation with you."

Mabel didn't reply and instead looked anywhere but where Pacifica stood next to her. She gave another sigh, this was going to take a fair bit of prying.

"Has Waddles gotten into any trouble lately?"

"Not that I know of."

"Are you coming to this year's pioneer day?"

"I didn't know it was coming up."

"It's next weekend."

"Oh."

"Have you visited Stan yet?"

"Yes."

"How was he?"

"He nearly murdered Bill, and he wants me to bring his deck of trick cards the next time I visit."

"Why?"

"Bingo money."

"No, the near death of Bill."

"Stan was just being Stan."

"Figures."

Pacifica continued to try and talk with her, but she always received the same brusque and quiet answers. Eventually, she managed to get one decent conversation out of her.

"W-where are we exactly?"

"Obviously you can put together that you're still in Gravity Falls. We're situated in the mountains right now, about a half an hour's walk away from the town. The house was originally a headquarters for the wonderful police of this town, but they couldn't afford to maintain it. So, he bought it from them."

"You're the mayor, how come you don't do anything about the police?"

"Between you and me, Gravity Falls doesn't need competent officers, it's too weird for them to handle. Besides, if we ever need to _really _get something done, Bill typically handles it. After handing out a few ridiculous fines that are apparently one hundred percent legal to arrest someone for, that is."

"Sounds like the type of thing he would do."

Standing up and stretching, Pacifica looked up at her phone.

"It's almost six, I need to get going now."

"Bye."

The blonde smiled and waved back, heading to her car. She was shy yes, and it was a small step, but Mabel was getting there.

* * *

Dipper yawned and shook his head trying to figure out where he was. Of course! His sleep schedule had been messed up lately, he was pretty much nocturnal. Glancing at the glowing alarm clock on his night table, the young man saw he had crashed on the old corner couch in his room and it was only seven. The sun had barely set behind the horizon. There was still an hour or two till Gideon would come by. He may as well get up now.

Switching on the lights, Dipper screamed. For a brief moment, he though he saw Bill In the place of his reflection. But as he blinked and rubbed his eyes, he just saw regular old Dipper Pines. Same brown hair, round features, and grey eyes. Wait. Grey eyes?! His were brown! He shook his head and blinked again, but surly enough, they were still the sickly grey colour. They almost exactly matched Bill's...

_"I am you..."_

"No. That couldn't be possible." He muttered to himself. "It was just a dream, nothing but a dream!"

But was it? Dipper shivered as he felt the irregular pulsing next to his own heart speed up. What was happening to him? The hat, could it be-

His train of thought was cut off as several crumpled papers caught his attention. That damned demon and his flaunting authority as an officer! He now owed how much in fines? One hundred, two hundred dollars! He wasn't exactly made of money. It had only been several days since he had last seen him, but already he had managed to remind him about the fines. Mail was not even supposed to come on Sundays!

It wasn't only those letters! He hadn't seen hide nor hair of his sister since she had run off. The little tramp! Where could she have even gone? He had made sure there was no one left for her to run off to, and there was no possible way she could hold up on her own. She seemed to know about the strings he had pulled, could she possibly go back to trusting that demon?

He was snapped out of his seething thoughts as someone knocked at the door. He didn't need to look to know who it was, the twinge in his nerves told him enough. He growled and stomped over to the door.

"You need to pay for your-"

"A promissum est a promissum." The young man commanded. "Walk inside."

In an almost militant fashion, the blond stepped inside, trying to struggle against the bonds.

"I. Really. Regret. This. Deal." He said robotically.

"That wouldn't surprise me." Dipper said with a smirk. "So then, your word on telling the truth please? "

"N-no."

"_Give_ me your _word. _"

"Y-you h-have it."

Since you _love _her so much, you probably have an idea as to where she is."

"I-in the form of a q-question please? " He asked through gritted teeth.

"Where is my sister?"

"No where you'll ever look."

"So you know where she is?"

"Possibly."

"Does Mabel trust you?"

The blond hung his head.

"No." He whispered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"N-no." The demon snarled this time.

"At least she still has enough sense on that matter. Like she could ever go back to even wishing to be around you! For a moment there, I thought she would have willingly gone back to you. Anyways you're free to go." He laughed, patting the demon on the head.

Face flushed, the blond walked out of the shack, not bothering to remind him about the tickets. As soon as he heard him leave, he went back to pacing. _Where was his sister?!_

* * *

The next few days were quiet, uneventful ones. He didn't make any progress with Mabel's shyness, and neither could Pacifica. The young woman was still skittish around him, either walking out of the room when he came in, or watching his every movement.

Slowly, he found himself loosing confidence. The encouraging words of Alex were replaced with Dipper's cruel ones. How could she ever possibly trust him again? What reason would she have to do so? She was never going to smile at him again, they wouldn't have any of their little arguments again, he wouldn't feel that small fluttering as she talked about their future plans...

As he passed by Mabel, she quickly looked away from him. He slouched a little as he headed down to the basement. Why should he even bother any more? There was nothing he could do for her, she didn't care any more.

"Oink!"

It seemed Waddles had followed him down the steps. The little pig knew what he was planning to do and seated himself in front of the cabinet with the glass bottles.

"Move out of the way little pig." He said, dangerously quiet.

Waddles continued to sit in front of the cabinet, playing conscience for the demon. He tried to move the pig, but he was too heavy.

"This is what I get for sharing all my food with you." He muttered to himself.

With an irate sigh he turned around and stomped back upstairs.

"I'm going to take a shower." He huffed as he walked by her, hoping it would clear his thoughts. Unfortunately, he did not feel any better afterwards. Towelling off his hair and changing, he flopped down onto the couch that currently served as his bed.

_She couldn't possibly care for you..._

_She's not going to trust you or anyone ever again..._

_You're the only one who can do this! _

Bill woke up screaming for what would probably not be the last time. Frustrated, he rubbed his eyes, brushing away the tears. Peering a the glowing screen of his phone, his saw he had only been asleep for twenty minutes. He tried to become comfortable again, but knew that he was not going to fall back to sleep. He heard Mabel softly talking to Waddles in the bedroom, so he knew he could sneak around the pig.

Stealthily, he made his way around the two and headed to the basement.

* * *

Mabel woke up abruptly, clutching her chest.

"Waddles! Stop that!" She snapped.

The pig had been sharply biting her hand in an effort to wake her up, and he continued to do so even as she tried to push him away. Annoyed she got up, blinking in the early morning light. Following the usual routine she had deviated for herself, she went to the kitchen, filled Waddles' food, made herself some toast, and got a glass of water.

All through this Waddles continued to oink at her, so eventually she put him out side. Sure there we predators, but a little peace and quiet would be nice. While she was putting her dishes away, the young woman heard something. It wasn't the pig, who had calmed down after a while. It sounded like someone... crying?

She let the pig inside before wandering around the house. It was softer when she walked down the hall to where the bedroom and living room were, but louder as she returned to the kitchen. Was it coming from the basement? She pushed open the door and leaped down the stairs.

Padding along the finished wooden floors, she found her theory was correct. Asides from a few storage boxes a(That contained yet to bs claimed supplied from the police.) and a couch, there was not much to be found in the space. It was strange considering the basement was finished, yet almost empty. Empty except for one thing.

Spread out across the floor was Bill, a half empty bottle of what appeared to be whisky in one hand. He looked worse for the wear, his hair standing on it's now greasy ends his usual confident posture gone. He was laying on his side sniffling quietly to himself as he took half-hearted sips of the drink.

_ "If I'm the only one who can help her, then I failed! She's never going to get better! I'm such an idiot! Should have just stayed in the mind, out of Gravity Falls!"_

His thoughts were interrupted by a stifled gasp behind him. The demon took another swig of whisky and turned around to see a horrified Mabel looking at him. He saw the briefest of brief look of caring flit across her eyes before vanishing again. He turned back away from her again, not wanting to see her run off.

"Go on, run. I know you want to." He said to the presumably empty room.

But Mabel had said behind him, silently watching as he continued to sniffle to himself, sobbing aloud now about how he had failed and he was sorry. Something told her he was not a threat at this time, that whatever he was going on about would not leave on it's own. It was tempting to help him, something about caring for others. It seemed familiar, sounded something deep within. The young woman could no longer stand it, and crept a little closer to him.

"You're drunk." She said pointedly.

"Nonsense. I'm sober perfectly." He hiccupped, staggering to his feet. He leaned against the couch, loosely clutching the bottle.

Mabel took a few timid steps closer, trying to get the bottle from him. Cautiously, she pried his sweaty hand from the bottle and placed it on the floor.

"Why were you crying?"

"Because I'm a failure, and I can't do anything, and I love you." He slurred.

Suddenly, he trapped her in a strangling bear-hug and pulled her onto the couch.

"W-what are you d-doing?! S-stop it!"

"I love you Mabel." He quietly breathed.

The sent of alcohol began invading her senses, and his hands began to wander along her legs.

"Give me a kiss." He slurred, trying to push her lips to his.

"S-stop it!" She yelped, trying to squirm away from his grasp.

She began to panick as he continued to tightly hold her in the embrace.

"But I love you." He complained like a little kid.

"I. Don't. Care!" She managed to snarl, shoving away his face.

"But I'd love you." He said more softly.

"Well I don't!"

The demon's grip on her faltered and he whispered;

"I know."

He burst back into tears, now squeezing the breath out of the young woman as he hugged her.

"I s-shouldn't have come into your life! I should have left you to be well of with your family!" He cried. "I'm just going to end up hurting you! I can't do anything to keep you safe no matter what!"

"So. Why. Don't. You. Leave. Then?" Mabel asked, still winded from the crushing arms around her.

"Because I can't! I don't have anywhere to go!"

"What about the dreamscape?"

"How am I supposed to get back there?"

"What do you mean? You're the dream-demon."

"N-not any more."

"Startled, they young woman looked at him.

"What? How is that possible?"

"I-I m-made a deal with your b-brother."

"But he said..." Mabel trailed off, disgusted with her realization. Her brother had even lied about making a deal with Bill.

"But you're still a demon, I still saw you switch around Stan's cards, and there was no way you could have hung upside down on the roof like that with out falling."

"True, true. I'm only enough of a demon as to not turn into a pile of dust like I would if I became fully human."

"Why would you even want to become part human?"

He didn't answer and let go of her. The demon pushed her away and flopped down on the ground again. He curled into a ball and began to cry yet again.

"Why?" Mabel asked.

"W-why?" Mabel repeated.

But she received no response. His wails gradually became more quiet, and much to Mabel's surprise he began to snore. He was stone-cold knocked out. Mabel poked him with a foot to confirm this.

"What am I supposed to do now?!"

* * *

The first thing Bill was aware of when he woke up, was that it felt as if someone was jackhammering on his head. Slowly, he opened his dusty eyes, only to shut them again as the pain increased ten fold. He could see the red behind his eyelids and assumed that it must have been light out. What had he done? Trying to remember past the shower he had taken the night before was simply painful on his part. A few alcohol-scented tears ran from his eyes.

Hesitantly, the blond opened one eye and then the other. The stimulus began to awaken his other senses; It felt like he was in the basement, and the smell of whisky lingered in the air, he was laying on the chilly ground. Someone had turned him onto his side should he become sick.

He swallowed painfully, the burning still in his dry throat, it felt choked with dust and grime. What he would do for a glass of water! But he wouldn't bother to try and stand, yet. His eyes slid into focus, and he made out something small and cylindrical in front of his face. His distorted reflection dimly stared back at him, and he realized it was a glass of water.

He didn't bother to wonder how something could have so perfectly placed itself in front of him, and managed to take a few sips. It cleared his mind, but a wave of nausea crashed into him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a plastic basin. He pulled it over to himself just in time to prevent being sick all over the floor.

Having emptied what little contents he had fermenting in his stomach, the demon felt a little better. It did nothing relieve the swirling red and black pain in his head though. He saw not sure how long it took, but his logic and sense of reasoning began to creep back into his thoughts.

What in the world had he done before? He had, had... Wait, why wasn't he wearing a shirt? Mabel! Oh gods, where was she? Had she known to stay away from him? What if she had come across him, wasn't able to fight back... No, she would never come anywhere near him, she hated him. She was never going to return back and it was all his fault...

A figure flitted at the edge of the blond's sight, and something was pushed into his field of vision. A few red letter on the container stood out to him, but he could not seem to remember how exactly to read. Was it I after E except after C? What was the point in English? Latin always had a faster was to say everything...

"A-sper-in." He sounded out to himself. "Asprin."

What did that do again? He wished he could remember, but the pounding in his head- Of course!

In what could only be described as a miracle, he opened the child-proof bottle and poured out a few red pills. Swallowing one, he put back the rest. Wait. How was that even possible? Were those ghosts back again? He was sure he had exorcised them for good! And Waddles was smart, but he couldn't reach the medicine cabinet with those short legs. That only left one option.

"M-Mabel?" He croaked, not expecting a reply.

Sure enough, he did not get one. It must have been those ghosts then! But his guess was proved wrong as she finally replied;

"Y-yes?"

A million questions filled his mind. Had he done anything to her? Was she hurt at all? Why would she even bother to help him? Wasn't she afraid? How long had he been out for? Yet rather than over whelm the young woman with his curiosity, he said;

"Can I have some more water?"

"Sure," she replied, "Sure."

Still nursing his hangover, the demon eventually got up as his headache managed to calm down. Mabel had backed away as he stood up, still wearily observing his actions.

"M-Mabel?" He asked softly.

After a prolonged silence, she managed to stutter back;

"Y-yea?"

Combing his hair out of his eyes, he said;

"What did I say, do when..." He trailed off, unsure as to whether or not it would scare her off.

"You made a deal with D- my brother?" Through her soft timidness, there was a slight note of distaste to her brother's name as if it was bitter on her tongue. He nodded.

"Why?"

He stared back at the hurt expression on her face, wondering what he could possibly tell her. Her doe eyes seemed to stare right through him, asking him for a straight answer. But was it what she wanted to hear?

"I didn't want to be one any more. There was always the risk when I was around others that I'd hurt them, my essence would slowly turn them back into uncivilized animals. There was always the risk, that I'd hurt you."

He closed his eyes here, blotting out the tears that threatened to fall, and the saddening image of her retreating before him. Yet to his surprise, she hadn't left. In fact, the young woman took a few paces closer to him.

"What does he have to do with this?" The brunette questioned, disgust still mingling in her voice.

"Mabel, when I wasn't a human, what stood out the most to you when it came to my appearance?"

She thought a moment before saying;

"You were ridiculously short, it was sort of hard to see you as intimidating at first. But, your hat and tie always reminded me of a little doodle in a math text-book. You know, like those models for Pythagoras' theorem."

Again, much to his surprise, Mabel giggled a bit.

"Do you see me wearing either of those now?"

She shook her head.

"I made a deal with your brother and company. He had the journals, the knowledge I needed. So I asked him to bind part of me to something. It's a cliché I bet you've heard of before, the demon possessing the object. Most of my powers, and the ahem, darker aspects of what you could call my other or demon personality inhabit them. We chose to use my hat and tie, something they could keep on them at all times."

Mabel gasped, indeed remembering the black tie Gideon had been wearing.

"And in return, in return I promised him my temporary obedience should he say a Latin phrase. A promise is a promise it translates to."

"Why don't you just take back your possessions so they don't have to have control over you?"

"How am I supposed to do that? They'd kill me if I got anywhere close to them."

They remained silent, not knowing what to say next. It was Mabel who broke the silence first.

"Why didn't you just let me die?"

Shocked at these words, he stood up and walked over to her. The young woman flinched and began to shake a little despite there still being a few feet between them, she managed to hold her ground. That was until he firmly said;

"Because I love you."

She gave a squeak of fear at this and fled back up the stairs.

_**3-15-14-20-18-15-12. 1-12-12...**_


	10. Bold, Italics, Underlined

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Sitting in the cluttered office at the police headquarters, _**Bill **_let his thoughts wander away from the dreary paperwork, and over to Mabel. She was scarred, timid. Factory rest one could say. Through the terrible combination of amnesia and being trapped in a coma, she had lost her way. She could no longer tell what had really happened and what was just a dream. What were real memories, and what were lies. If there was one thing she had been sure of, it was that she could trust her brother.

Hell, he thought so too at first. It had been his own mistake thinking that Dipper wouldn't resume his schemes in order to take care of his sister. If he had been more insistent in his ways, kept her safe, so much suffering would have been spared. If the one thing Mabel thought she was sure of turned out to be nothing more than a lie, what did she have to turn to? The woman was confused and lost. So she did the only thing her mind could cope. Reset.

Evidently, Dipper had been her anchor, keeping his sister's anxiety at bay. If she had solely relied on him to keep her out of her shell, removing him from the equation would send her scrambling back to the way she used to be.. The only familiar thing with out Dipper. It was like pulling out the bottom layer in a deck of cards. All the ambiguity and comfort she had built over the years was snatched away from her.

And the problem was, he wasn't Dipper, he had not grown up with Mabel. He loved her, but only a handful of people knew about the cheery and sociable façade she had built over the years. Deep down, she was always still a little scared, always feeling nervous. But he did not know how to handle it. He had asked for a sign, some assurance that he was the one who could help her, and finally it had come in it's twisted way.

It had taken his tears and intoxication, but he had managed to break though to her, gain a temporary pass through all her timidness and paranoia. He had opened up to her, told the young woman the truth. Would it keep her tied down for the time being? _**Is **_ it enough? She mustered the courage to stay in her place, even take care of him partially through his hangover.

The man sighed, just thinking of it made the nausea return. That was the last time he let himself drink, he would make sure to empty the bottles when he got home.

Scrawling down a few sloppy signatures and giving a stamp of approval to a few sheets, he realized he had been signing _Mabel Cipher-Pines _ instead of his own name. Just then, sheriff Blubs walked into the room. He scrambled to hide the incorrect signatures before his co-worker could see.

"Hey sonny-"

He winced at the nick name, gods how he hated it.

"It looks like someone's slashed your car and keyed it to boot."

"Oh ok," The blond waved off, "Wait. What?!"

The older officer shrugged.

"Come out and see it for yourself. "

Gravity Falls' only competent officer followed the pudgy man out to the small parking lot, where indeed his car had been scratched at the sides, and it's all-season tires had been torn with rubbery shreds handing off the rims. Who ever had done that was totally _**merciless **_ in their actions. Durland had enclosed the whole are with police tape, and was already dusting for finger prints.

"Is that, hot chocolate powder? " Bill asked, feeling one of his eyes twitch at the sight.

Durland looked down at the dust.

"Whoops! My bad! Your car will smell amazing though! Like," His crossed eyes widened, "Christmas."

"Isn't he just adorable?" Blubs asked him.

_"No."_

_**He **_faked a sincere nod instead.

"How am I supposed to get back home?"

"Well-"

* * *

"-Well, well, well. If it _**isn't**_ wicked witch of the west."

Dipper and Gideon taunted, they both began to hum the famous tune behind him.

"Oohh, watch out a tornada's commin'!"

"Where's Toto?"

"Some where, over the rainbow..."

" _**What **_has that little girl still got your ruby slippers or something?"

"Heading off to Oz?"

"No, he couldn't possibly be, he's not following the yellow brick road."

"Follow the yellow brick road."

"Follow the yellow brick road?"

"Follow the yellow brick road!"

Bill was still trying to figure out where the Wizard of Oz jokes were coming from. Hewas just riding a bike! It wasn't even a girly one! There was no basket or anything, it was just one of the police force's spare mountain bikes the grand total of three officers never bothered to use. He continued to ignore the two annoyances behind him.

"We're off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of Oz!"

Why couldn't he even be left to ride home? He had been out of their way, and they just chose to tail behind him. They were laughing and joking behind him as if they were hilarious. Not to mention, neither if them had the voices for singing. At all. Why had they even turned on him let alone Mabel? He fought back a small fragment of guilt in his head that seemed to whisper;

_"You know why..."_

"-If ever, if ever a wiz there was, the wizard of Oz is sure because; Because, because, because becaaaaaaause!"

"You two are horribly off key." Bill finally said, trying to pedal away from them.

"-Because of the wonderful things he does!"

"Are you just making all these jokes because I'm riding a bike?"

They didn't reply, and somehow managed to sing as they jogged behind him.

"A brain!"

"A heart!"

"Some courage!"

At this, _**he **_braked and turned to the two men following behind him.

"Now _that _I can believe. Because if I'm the wicked witch, then you two are clearly the cowardly lion and tin-brained- sorry tin man." He snarled.

Dipper turned to Gideon with a smile.

"He _**seems **_mad doesn't he?"

The albino nodded in agreement and replied;

"Steamed really. Perhaps it's his time of the month?"

"Wouldn't surprise me." Dipper said with a shrug.

The burst into laughter again, so they did not see either hand crash their heads together.

"Ahh!"

"Sweet corn cobs that hurt!"

The two stumbled around,holding their heads and swearing. The blond rolled his eyes before biking off.

* * *

Having long left Dipper and company behind, the blond found himself toiling as he tried to hike up the hill. He was too exhausted to even feel the slightest hint of anger at the quips of Gideon and Dipper any more.

"That's it slashed tires or not, I'm never biking back home again!" He panted to himself.

Finally, sweating and out of breath, he pulled up onto the drive in his house. He could barely persuade himself to stand up and move, his legs felt like jelly. He managed to take two steps before falling flat on his face. Bill was well aware of the fact the gravel was going to leave indents on his face, he could already feel the little grey rocks biting into his cheek. Who knew? Maybe he'd start a trend.

Luckily for him, the sun was already sinking in the horizon, so he was not going to fry like an egg on the sidewalk. After a few minutes of just letting his lungs and heart catch up, he began to feel sleepy in the lingering afternoon heat. And would have fallen asleep, leaving him at the mercies of the black flies and mosquitoes that night if not for someone suddenly spraying him with the hose.

The contrast between the warm summer air and the frigid water was strong. Instantly, he jumped up screaming something akin to;

"Coldcoldcoldcoldcold!"

Looking up, he saw Mabel and Pacifica grinning down at him with the hose. Well, Pacifica was grinning. Mabel looked half-horrified and half-amused, and gave a shy smile.

"See? He didn't melt!" Was the first thing Pacifica said.

"By chance would that be _another _Wizard of Oz joke?" He replied.

"Well, everyone decided Pioneer Day was too boring, no one likes pioneers! All they did was explore and make old time-y butterscotch, and explore. We're going to have a Wizard of Oz day instead!"

"Do you have any idea what just went through coming home today?"

"It couldn't have been too good if he was riding a bike." Mabel said quietly.

"The wicked witch of the Northwest..." Pacifica mused.

Bill groaned and layed back down on the ground, but he found himself being sprayed by the hose again. He didn't bother to get up and merely let them soak him from head to toe.

"No dying of heat stroke!" The Northwest heiress announced.

"I just rode up hill on a bike for forty five minutes, I'll die of heat stroke if I want to."

Before he could reply, he received a face full of water. Choking a little, he snatched the green hose from the two women. He pointed the nozzle between the two, hoping his "training" as an officer would pay off by making it look like he meant business. It didn't.

"He looks like a drowned kitten." Mabel said, looking anywhere but him as she said so.

"What?!" He asked, trying to fight back the blush creeping across his face, "I do no- achoo!"

"He sneezes like one too." Mabel said, never directly addressing him.

"You're blushing." She added, a ghost of a smirk crossing her face, it faded as he scowled. Pacifca smacked him upside the head.

"Be nice!" She instructed. "Mabel was wanting to ask you something."

"I-I was?"

"S-she was?"

Pacifica gave the other woman a nudge with her shoulder. Mabel blanched and let her eyes flit everywhere but his face. The only competent officer in Gravity Falls felt a sharp poke of annoyance at her timidness.

"Any day now." He whistled.

Mabel flinched a little, and the bravado she had mustered flicked a moment before roaring back.

"I want to go visit Stan."

"Oh you do, do you?"

"Bill." Pacifica warned.

"I'm just saying that I can't. Someone slashed my tires and keyed my car today. besides, what if Dip- they see her?"

"We've already though this out." Mabel replied, pulling on a blonde wig and blue contacts to match Pacifa's eyes.

"Oh so we're going to walk _two hundred _kilometers?!"

The mayor of Gravity Falls tossed him some keys.

"Consider it a new addition to the force. The helmets are in the side car."

* * *

The demon had to admit that he did prefer the bike over the slightly coffee-tainted car. Not only that, there was nowhere to leave all his numerous papers and boxes of donuts. Now he could force himself to actually take all his files and junk either inside or elsewhere. Also, the proximity between him and Mabel was, close to say the least.

She had her arms tightly wrapped around his chest and her own firmly pressed against his back. They had long driven out of town, and so she had removed the wig and pulled her own hair out of it's bun. The woman's chocolate coloured strands whipped in the wind, slightly brushing against his nose much to his satisfaction. He did care for her, but he was a guy and a little intimacy was nice now and then.

"Are you daydreaming?! I said, car!"

At what could possibly be the last second he swerved the bike out of the way, enjoying the adrenaline now pumping through him and Mabel's tightening grip around his chest.

"You seem nervous." He smirked.

"Pardon me? I couldn't hear you over the other CAR!"

Again they turned, this time nearly spinning in to a ditch along the side of the road. Seeing how part of his life flashed before his eyes, Bill decided once again that perhaps he should be a little less reckless while driving.

Many windswept and angry truck driver-filled minutes later, they pulled up to the spotless old people's home. Dismounting from the motor bike, both froze as they saw the creepy employee standing on the old house's porch as if she had been expecting them. As per usual, she had on her flashy smile and overly pinkness.

She directed the two around back where of course Stan was cheating his fellow old people out of their money. How she knew exactly where he was, what he was doing, and how illegal it happened to be, was slightly concerning, yet they proceeded nevertheless.

Mabel spotted her great-uncle first, sitting under a large chestnut tree in a cracked, blue, lawn chair. For what ever reason, he sat with his back to them, staring off into the forest that backed on to the property and most of the abnormally normal town.

It could have been likely he had chosen this spot because the shade and the familiar ancient trees reminded the old man of his favourite spot on the shack porch. Also, it was quiet here, the chatter of the other people (And the creepy woman.) faded away, replaced by a few eerie calls that echoed throughout the woods. Not that he was sentimental or anything, that was for suckers. Sentimentality was how you suckered in tourists to return to the Mystery Shack over and over again. Alright, perhaps he missed it a fraction of a sliver of an inch.

The young woman hesitated as she saw him. Did she really want to go over and see him? What if Pacifica was wrong? What if he didn't care about her? She could have easily been wrong, or lying even; Lauging as Mabel Pines beat herself up over the idea that someone could possibly want to be associated with her. Suddenly the idea that everyone would begin to laugh at her as she talked to him, that they would mock her, all the elderly people and the woman would join in with Stan took over her thoughts.

She took a few steps back, only to find that Bill was now gently holding her shoulders, not letting the woman run off.

"You're going to be fine." He assured her, "I'll do most of the explaining for you."

He actually had to push the brunette step by step over to her great-uncle. The old man still remained unaware of their presence until the man cleared his throat.

"Ah! How long have you been here for you two?" Stan asked, stealthily hiding away the familiar glasses with the slightly rounded frames.

"We just got here, the Barbie princess of the year award winner told us where you were."

Stan chucked at the less than flattering description of the woman, but it faded away as he wondered why Mabel had barely given as much as a hello to him. Noting how pale and skittish she looked, he instantly glared at Bill out of habit and asked;

"What did you do to-"

"The real question is what did, Dip- Her brother do." He cut in.

Having been used to how subdued the blond had become, now having Mabel anchoring him in life, Stan remained silent, not expecting to be interrupted.

"What he do?" He asked after a pause, scratching his five o'clock shadow.

"From what I can gather, he finally let it fly what exactly she was in his plans. I found her in the woods out of sheer luck thanks to that pig of hers. She probably would have drowned or at least caught her death of cold. And now, see for yourself. Say hi Mabel."

Mabel shifted a little on her feet, neither meeting the eyes of Stan or the blond. Eventually, she gave a very timid;

"Hi Grunkle Stan."

Instantly, the old man was reminded many years ago, back to a time when Mabel would barely remember; their first meeting. If Stan recalled, she had been impossibly shy. Too shy to do anything but stand frozen to the spot. His nephew then explained somewhat sheepishly how timid she was, even around him and his niece in-law. After a few nerve-twisting minutes and coaxing from her parents, she managed to stutter a quick hello.

It was this moment that reminded him of his great-niece today. So, he replied in the same calm even tone he had used two or so decades ago.

"Hey kiddo."

"I b-brought your p-pack of trick c-cards." She said fretfully.

"Thanks." He said quickly, politeness still burned sometimes. "You have no idea how hard it's been to slip in an extra card when none of them are marked! I haven't made a single solitary buck off of these chumps!"

She handed to the blond, who then placed the pack in Stan's outstretched palms. With out a pause, he ripped open the package and fanned through the cards.

"Ahh the smell of a day's worth of winnings." He sighed.

Mabel began to blink back tears, wondering why her great-uncle had not yet done anything. Rather than do anything or indicate that he wished to have nothing to do with her, he calmly accepted the fact that she was not up to too much socialization.

Stan easily took over the conversation from the other two, knowing exactly the right moment to involve Mabel, to keep the woman feeling as if she was wanted right there. And she was, but she was too afraid to realize it, and if anyone had pointed it out, it would have surely triggered her fears again.

Bill marveled at how tactfully Stan held his wits about him. The only competent officer of Gravity Falls had never seen the man like this. Sure he knew that behind the callousness he cared about his family, but still in that tough-love sense. Here, he removed any overly loud or obnoxious comments from his mind, he softly let the young woman become more comfortable in the space she had been given. There was no sense of a bomb being diffused as he talked to his great-niece. Stanford Pines, the flint-hearted, black-souled, con man knew. He knew exactly what his great-niece needed.

After an hour or so of their soft, almost gentle conversation, the two men succeeded in getting one almost Mabel-like comment from her accompanied with a brief smile. From there, the couple gave farewells. The demon did not even receive a chance to talk with Stan afterwards, as the crazy woman shooed them away.

Now almost content with the fact that Stan was not going to hurt her, Mabel easily relaxed against his frame as they rode back to Gravity Falls.

The blond smiled to himself, imagining that they were back to normal, going for a drive along the woods as the sun finally set below the mountains. The air was still humid, but it cooled as night set on them with a slight breeze. This was nice for it chased away any mosquitoes or other bloodsuckers that may have been after them. Well, only some of them.

So caught up in his fantasies of Mabel (Mind you, nothing erotic, merely a discussion about what they would name their children.) he did not realize she wasn't wearing the wig or the contacts until they stopped at one of the town's few traffic lights.

"B-Bill." Mabel suddenly stuttered.

"Mhhm?" He replied, still lost in his imagination. "You know, I always liked the name Montgomery..."

"They're walking t-this way."

Here the weight of her words sunk in on him. Suddenly, the two were both scrambling to find her wig and the contacts.

"Found one!" He muttered, handing her the one contact as she pulled the blond wig over her head. "Damn, I can't find the other! Get into the side car and pretend to be asleep. As of now, you are now Stacy Smith, under arrest for I don't know?! Being waaay too drunk."

The woman slid into the side car and made sure to slump to one side. She felt him lightly take her wrist and place a handcuff around it. The whole operation couldn't have taken more than thirty seconds, but it felt much longer, even more so as Dipper and Gideon passed by the idling motorcycle.

"Don't recognize her." Dipper said in a somewhat hostile greeting.

"Some drunk from the next town over. There was this crazy college party and they needed reinforcements up north." Bill replied steadily.

"There's no smell of anything on her." Gideon said.

Mabel felt her heart begin to beat triple it's rate, and farther squeezed her eyes shut. The man had begun to sweat a little at the keen observation. Luckily, an excuse came to him a flash.

"It wasn't so much the alcohol as it was the other... illegal substances."

Both wrinkled their noses.

"When'd you get the bike anyways?" Dipper asked as if the conversation that afternoon had never occurred.

"New addition to the force." He replied honestly.

Just then, the light turned green, never was it such a welcoming sight. Driving off into the dusk, they both gave a sigh of relief.


	11. Feathers, Charcoal, and Bow Ties

**Grrr, chapter 12 has been giving me issues...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Blinking slightly, Bill found himself not waking up on his couch but yet again in his dreamscape. It was a common thing, seeing as the whole invade people's minds as they sleep and human beings require sleep sort of clashed. There was not much he could do other than wait it out, allowing himself to wake up, or speed up the process by sorting his thoughts and emotions. Literally.

He sighed and sat down behind a desk he had imagined from nowhere. The demon allowed papers and endless files to curl around him as he read through his own unmistakable cursive. After a while (He found times indistinguishable for him these days and could not tell a minute from an hour.) he relaxed a little more. Eventually, he began to somewhat ironically tire and felt his eyes strain a little. He could not find the will to brighten the light around him, so instead he simply pulled out his glasses and marched through the days events.

All was a textbook case until he came across the papers containing the emotions and thoughts as he drove off with Mabel. He blushed a little shamefully for choosing certain tasteless words, but who wouldn't after reading their own thoughts?

Suddenly, he felt a ghostly presence grace him. The blond groaned and said aloud;

"Not you two again, go away."

The figure made it's appearance known. An almost specter-like version of Mabel appeared before his eyes, floating with the ease and fluid movements of smoke.

_"Why, are you unhappy to see me?"_ She asked, in a sweet tone much unlike Mabel's.

"Yes. Now go away."

The illusion gave him a crafty smile._  
_

_"Awww, you know you don't mean that."_ She said, widening her eyes.

"You know I do."

_"No,"_ She began,_ "You're just stressed."_

It melted back into the air before appearing behind him. Slowly, she began to rub his shoulders.

_"Just stressed." _

No I'm not. And stop doing that!" He snapped, pulling away her soft hands.

_"Yes you are."_ She said in her dreamy tone, leaning closer to his face over the chair.

"I'll admit to being stressed, but I do mean what I said. Go away. You're. Not. Her."

The illusion gave a smile, thinking she had solved the problem.

_ "Then who do you want me to be?" _She purred, leaning closer to his face.

He ignored the remark and tried to find the correct spot for the paper concerning his current feelings for Mabel. The illusion slid onto his lap, benign and surreal as ever.

_"William, William." _

"No." He firmly said.

Yet he did not bother to stop her as she slowly eased off his glasses and began to stroke his cheek with one of her delicate hands. He tried to imagine her away, but she wouldn't do so.

_"Why do you want me to leave?"_ She asked sadly, for a moment almost passing for the real Mabel.

He had to shake his head and brush off the secure feeling that had taken over him as she continued to caress his face._  
_

"You know why."

_"But I love you."_ She replied, mocking the very words he had said to Mabel.

"Well I hate you, every last bit of you."

_"Why?"_

"Why should you care? You're nothing but a figment of my insane imagination! No matter what, I will never fully give in."

_"Why? What's the difference between me and her? What else could you possibly want? Why does it matter if I'm not her? I could be anyone you wanted, do anything you wanted."_

"You're just lust in an essence._ I_ love Mabel, and_ I_ refuse to give in."

_"Love?"_ She scoffed,_ "Impossible. Why be in love? It's only going to pull your heart to shreds. Wouldn't you rather feel this?"_ She pressed her bare chest against his.

"N-no."He replied, trying to battle other feelings.

_"Are you suuuure?" _She purred in her ever sultry tone.

The illusion leaned closer to his face as she said this and began to run her fingers through his hair. The demon shuddered a little, trying to shut her out or at least finally get her to leave._  
_

_"Are you posssitive?"_ She teased again.

Their lips practically brushing now, she crooned;_  
_

_"All it would take is one. Little. Kiss."_

Finally he let his thoughts cave in. Oh the things he would do to her; her silken body straining against his, her beautiful soft lips meeting his own as she continued to softly say his name. All the time her innocent doe eyes staring at him, tears welling in the beautiful jems as he ravished her over and over again...The blond gave a lusty growl and tried to kiss her back, but she faded and backed away from with a playful;_  
_

_"Ah, ah, ah!"_

Instantly, a mix of shame, embarrassment, and revulsion filled him. He had never given in before, but today they had just barely managed to catch him in a moment of true weakness. The idea that he would ever do that to the real Mabel, or anyone horrified him. It all felt wrong, almost as if he was cheating on her despite them not being in a relationship, and the fake Mabel being nothing more then a figment of his imagination.

Another figure appeared next to her, it was himself. It retained the same phantom appearance of his partner, smoky and barely looking solid at all. His face was more waxen then his own, as if never having seen the light of day. It made it's grey eyes and blond hair stand out all the more, adding to his specterly appearance. The expression he saw mirrored on his face was a familiar one of fixed his bow tie and said;

_"Before you tell me to go away, how well did doing the same work with her?"_

The real Bill scowled and replied;

"It's worth a try anyways. Go. Away."

The other figment of his mind merely ignored him and continued to say;

_"You could have chosen to give in you know, it would have been so much easier."_

Suddenly, the fake Mabel threw herself into the other illusion's arms. They both shared a smile before locking into a passionate embrace. The man looked away sheepishly, trying not to belive that that was Mabel and himself. After a few seconds, the managed to pull away;

_"That... couldhave... been... you."_ The male illusion panted.

_"Wouldn't you like that?"_ The fake Mabel asked, floating over to him.

_"We already know he would. So stop doing that!"_ The illusion snapped.

_"Awww, you're jealous."_ She replied, turning back to her counterpart.

_"Jealous?! I'm not jealous!"_ He snapped, still placing a protective arm around her waist._  
_

_"Of course you're not."_ The illusion stated, dream-like as ever, but she gave the illusion a quick kiss to make up for it.

_"Don't you miss being a demon?"_ The fake Bill questioned, twirling around his top hat before placing it back over his head.

"Well, sometimes." He answered honestly.

_"Sometimes? You'd miss it all of the time if you could have me."_

The fake him gave another scowl as she said this and pulled her even closer to himself.

"What are you saying?" He asked, setting down the paper he was holding.

_"If you become a demon again, you'd have all the power of the mind. You could have your cake and eat it too, you could wreak your revenge, and get the woman . All. Like. This." _

"But." He began struggling to keep his wits about him, "What ever happens in the mind is not real. It's an illusion. Like you two!"_  
_

_"Reality **is **an illusion Bill, you've said it yourself many times."_

He faltered, unsure of what to say. How was he supposed to match up to himself? Let alone a version of him that had everything he wanted..._  
_

_"You could always find them..."_ He gestured to his own hat and tie._ "Once you get one, the other would be easy enough to find."_

"N-no! Then I'd turn back into y-you! I have to keep Mabel safe!"

Just then, he found the correct section to file away the particular memory in. Both the illusions paled as he did so, and did not bother to fight it as he tucked it away.

_"I am you. And no matter what, we'll have out way in the end. You're going to need them back eventually, and I look forward to the time. I'll make sure to say hello to Shooting Star for you..."_

* * *

Suddenly, he found himself awake once again, for real this time. Shaking his head and yawning, the man neatly screamed finding himself face to face with Mabel. When they had arrived back home, he had actually carried her inside and they had both ended up instantly crashing on the couch, falling asleep partly from relief at their close encounter, and partly because they were both tired. While normally, he wouldn't have minded, he did now. After what he had just dreamed about, he wanted nothing more than to in a corner or bury himself in all the papers that came with work.

The thought back to the last few words of his other self. Surely he would never have to become fully a demon again, right? If he did, what would happen to Mabel? If he didn't get the hat and tie from the others, what would they do to him? He didn't want to willingly hurt her, there was no joy in her pain for him. His momentarily lustful feelings had turned it into a whole goddamned campaign for him. Why couldn't he even dream normally?!

He loved Mabel, and he would never try to do anything with out her consent. Well that was to say his human side would not. The demonic rendition of him would have her in a heartbeat, enjoying every last second of it. If one good thing came out of this, it reminded him as to why exactly he had extracted his powers and stored them elsewhere. They would stop at nothing to get what they, or rather he wanted.

Carefully, the man began to ease himself away from Mabel. It was a difficult and tricky job as she had her head cradled on his chest, and she also happened to be sleeping on his arm. It did not help that Waddles had managed to wedge his way between their legs, and was curled into a tight ball as he continued to snore quietly. After a series of pulls and what could only be described as a miracle, he pried himself free. Waddles was awake now though, but sat firmly in his spot watching the man as he went off to shower muttering something to himself.

The pig yawned and stretched out, his curly tail straightening for a moment as he did so. He leaped off the couch wondering about the prospects of breakfast this morning. He wandered out of the living room, and in to the kitchen where the yellow man was no where to be seen.

Peering expectantly in to his porcelain bowls he snorted, annoyed. His water had been replaced, but there was none of the designated pig kibble he was expected to eat before the real food. His slight annoyance and rumbling tummy wore away for a moment as he began to wonder when the last time yellow man had forgotten to feed him. Usually, it was Mabel's look alike who did that. How odd. Maybe he was trying to get Mabel back in to the habit of feeding him, she was his owner after all.

Really, there was no telling with that guy. Sometimes his intentions were clear as day; He cared for Mabel, he saved her and was taking care of her. Other times, not so much. Waddles had speculated every now and then on whether or not the yellow man was completely human. After all, he had pulled of feats most human beings would have trouble with, and he had a certain way in which he could easily persuade people. If the man wasn't really human, then what else could he be hiding?

The pig's train of thought was pulled away as his sensitive hearing caught on to Mabel waking up. Naturally, he sauntered over to her, expecting some attention in the least. A few scratches behind the ears and a good morning. Hopefully accompanied by some food this time.

* * *

Mabel wandered aimlessly around the house. Not much had come to her mind since last night, she enjoyed basking in a familiar safe emotion. Stan, he hadn't done anything. He had been nice to her. The old man barely acknowledged her, but when he did she didn't feel nervous or forced into conversation. It made talking almost pleasant.

Eventually, she came around to the back door. With a shrug, the brunette decided to get a little air, she had explored the house and made enough of her own observations already. The house was built more as a cottage than a real home, but it had a sturdy, yet lived in feel to it.

Despite being lived in by Bill, it was still a fairly clean and ordinary house. Of course there were a few of his egotistical touches here and there; All the cups were yellow, he had a few (Probably faked or gained in some demonic way.) diplomas hanging on the wall. Majors in English and Latin, a degree in psychology, a (For sure falsified) high school diploma and hat, and for some reason, a degree in the visual arts.

Mabel had been expecting everything to be obsessively yellow and black, a scary mess. Instead it seemed as if _she _had almost decorated the place. He seemed to understand the concept of feng shui, balancing all of the positives and negatives of the art. Not did the decorating of the house give it a cozy and inviting vibe, the general construction of the house was well put together. Most of the windows in the house were larger, allowing more sun then actual electric lighting to illuminate the house. They all gave a beautiful view of the Oregon panorama.

Being situated on a hill, the area around the house was uneven. How high of the ground one was when on the deck varied. It was more level near the front, where the porch was built similarly to the Mystery Shack's. Near the back, the land was flat for six or so meters before dropping of in a rolling hill. Before the hill started again, there was a flagstone patio just barely under the deck. There were a few chairs facing the seemingly endless forests and mountain ranges. Unbeknownst to Mabel, the secluded calm happened to be Bill's favourite place to spend his time out doors. So, having never been down on the patio despite being aware of it's existence, Mabel decided to check it out.

Carefully, she plodded down the steep wooden stair case, holding out her arms in an effort to balance. The railing looked as if it would barely hold her weight. She approvingly scanned the area, liking the mix of sun and shade for the chairs. With the deck nearly over top it gave a sense of privacy, a sensation she had been longing for. But, there was a small fly in this idea.

Bill was sitting off to the side, gazing wistfully off into the distance. He had a piece of charcoal staining his hand, and probably had a sketch book resting between his knees and lap. The young woman was curious as to what he was drawing, now familiar with the degree he had earned in the visual arts. She knew the unspoken rule of arts everywhere was that one never looked in to another person's works with out their permission. Stan had suffered the backlash the one time he had been curious enough to do so to her...

"What are you sketching?"

This time, it was the man's turn to jump. Much to her surprise, a faint blush tainted his face. Once his thoughts caught up with his mouth, the blond held up the book a little and replied;

"Nothing in particular."

Mabel walked over to him, peering down at the page. She gasped at the wave of remembrance. The drawings, merely a few doodles were nice. A few birds, evidently the ones that had been visiting the feeder, and several eyes. It was nothing special, but it evoked a memory.

_"Mabel, you **need **to **hide **it, you **have **to. If I were to do so, they'd find out eventually."_

_"Who? Dipper and Gideon? Or Bill?"_

_"It doesn't matter. Just get rid of that god damned book! They're too ambitious, and I'm too old to fight back any more. You're the only one I trust."_

_"But Grunkle Stan, I'm-"_

"Y-your style. I-it's exactly like the drawings in the journals!"

"Well," He began sheepishly, "I'm just mimicking it, I'm more for realism myself."

Leaning even closer, Mabel asked;

"Can I see?"

Startled by her closeness, as it reminded him of the dream, he stuttered a quick;

"N-no!"

The brunette recoiled at the snippy remark. Not that it was unexpected, seeing as she sketched herself and knew some things just needed to be kept personal. There were no greater secrets then the ones you managed to keep to yourself, especially when it came to the arts. She knew that there were things you could never say or do otherwise, and would never muster to show someone else. The woman easily waved off his apologies from this understanding.

"I know." She soothed.

"I could draw you though." He quietly suggested. "Just something quick, so you could get an idea..."

Mabel regarded him hesitantly, feeling self conscious at the offer. But there was still the prospect of observing what he could do. In addition, the offer was something to be flattered by. Normally it was the person asking the artist to capture them on paper or canvas. The woman graciously smiled.

"Where should I sit?"

The man thought for a moment, surveying the area. He began to chew a little on the end of his length of charcoal before spitting the disgustingly bitter taste out of his mouth. He pointed a blackened finger over at one of the farthest chairs. She complied and sat down.

Sure he would have been able to capture more of her if she sat in one of the closer chairs out of the sunshine, but he wanted to do the job quickly. He had told himself the dream was nothing mote than a dream, and the Mabel he had imagined was nothing like her. But the problem was, she was like her if not in personality but in stature. The woman held herself with the same air, and a certain look crossed her features. The joyous lust that had filled him before now terrified him. What if the reminder of what she was drew out the demon?

He abhorred the idea of staring at her body longer than possible. Rapidly, he memorized her position and the clothes she was wearing. His length or charcoal quickly flew across the paper, drawing thin black lines that formed her figure. Her beautiful, curvy form, that would soon be-

He shook his head and finished shading in the fold in her summer dress. Now he lingered on her face, wanting to capture the expressive eyes and soft features. The small light in her eyes, and the glossy sheen of her tumbling hair. It took longer to convey the emotions he wanted to show. Luckily, Mabel was a good model and was patient , not needing to be told over and over to stay still.

With a few finishing strokes across the page and a sweep of his finger, he finished.

"Done." The blond said.

Mabel stood and stretched out. She walked over to him, interested as to what he saw. The man handed her the sketch pad, letting her revel over the drawing. Indeed he had captured her essence, it was almost scary how he had done so. Rather than blather on about how amazing he was or how good she looked, the brunette remained silent.

"I-it's... y-you're... t-t-thank you."

Softly, he looked up at her. A stroke of wonderment rolled over him. Had he just found a way to connect with her?

* * *

Having been sufficiently fed (Meaning he had received his kibble and a pancake.) by Mabel, Waddles lounged on the kitchen's tile floor, enjoying the warm sunlight that was streaming through the window. Slowly, he began to nod off, allowing himself to do so. After all, he could find what the yellow man was up to later...A sound caught his attention.

If he had human vocal chords, Waddles would have moaned in complaint. Couldn't he get some extra sleep with out the world crashing down around him? Well, maybe he was being a little melodramatic. It was just Mabel and the yellow man talking about something.

With little to no interest, he wandered over to the screen door and pushed it open with his shoulders. He saw the two were sitting on the ground level patio. Mabel was sitting in the sun, while the blond sat in the shade under the deck.

Waddles would rather not go down the deck steps, his pudgy form and stubby legs were not adept at steep descents. Instead he let their conversation drift through the summer air, picking up a few strains of the words.

"Your favourite painter?" Mabel asked.

"Monet. Your's?"

"Emily Carr? Are you familiar with the group of seven?"

"Yes, she wasn't actually a member though was she?"

"No. Chauvinistic males of the eighteen hundreds saw to that."

"I'm more familiar with her novels."

"Klee Wick?"

"An interesting and unique point of view for the times."

The sound of a car pulling on to the gravel driveway caught Waddles' attention. He listened carefully, ignoring the conversation below him as he tuned in to the other sounds. The steps were too heavy and stealthy to be Pacifica's, and there were two pairs. An omunous feeling came over him. Ignoring the fact that he could barely handle the stairs, Waddles practically rolled down them trying to catch the other's attention. Mabel was first to make it over to the winded and now dizzy pig.

"Waddles are you ok?" She asked as if he could reply, cradling the pig in her arms.

Bill on the other hand, was first to notice the sound of two voices and footsteps. Mabel realized it next, and they stood stock still, to afraid to do anything. Again, the man was first to react.

A flash of white surrounded Mabel,and suddenly she found herself lower to the ground. The grass and trees were all now taller around her. Her vision became much brighter around her. It was more sharp and focused, but hurt a little. The woman tried to take a step but nearly tripped over her now taloned feet. She gave a hoot of fear and frustration.

"I'm sorry!" The blond hissed, picking her up and letting her perch on his arm, "I panicked! I didn't know what to do!"

The brown owl that was now Mabel glared at him. Or as much as she could despite the fact that her eyes already looked as if always glaring. The woman ruffled her feathers, satisfactory noticing he tried not to sneeze. But she was reminded of the current situation as a voice called around the side of the house;

"Cipher! Where are ya'?!"

"Here of course." He replied, trying to hide his fear.

Sure enough Dipper and Gideon rounded the property, not standing on the patio but still there. Waddles gave a small oink of dislike. Dipper narrowed his eyes.

"So that's where you ran off to!"

_"I didn't run of, I stalked away with dignity to one who was more willing to feed me."_

"You know I can fine you for trespassing on private property."

"I'm sure ya' could." Gideon said, knowing what had already happened to Dipper.

"Nice contacts by the way Pine Tree." The blond neutrally said, gesturing to his grey eyes. "They almost look like my eyes."

Dipper did not reply and instead crossed his arms and fixed the demon and two animals with a fierce glare.

"What's with the owl?"

"She's friendly."

"Oh really?"

As if in response to his challenge, the demon tried to pet Mabel's glossy feathers. Mabel nipped one of his fingers, not letting him do so.

"Amazing, you should become a Disney princess with all the animals you can charm."

If she could Mabel would have rolled her eyes. Instead, she fixed her yellow gaze on the two, hoping it would intimidate them. She was hardly ready to face her brother, and wanted nothing more than for him go leave. It was all she could to not to break out in tears or try to fly away. What if he realized it was her? He could easily take her back! She wasn't familiar with this body and he would have no trouble in caging her away.

"By chance would you have any other ideas as to where Mabel might be?"

The owl gave a quiet "who".

"I said, Mabel."

"Whoo!"

"Ma. Bel."

"Gideon you idiot, it's not me! It's the owl saying that!"

"I was humoring her."

"Whoo!"

"The owl- never mind that! Do you really have no idea where Mabel is?" He begged.

Dipper scowled in disapproval at this. Did he really have to beg? It made them look weak, as if they didn't have the upper hand.

"Perhaps if you gave me something in return..." The blond suggested, gesturing slightly to the tie Gideon was wearing.

Started by the proposition, the albino took a few steps away. He narrowed his grey-pink eyes and rested a hand over the black tie. Gideon took a slightly frayed edge and separated a few of the silk strands. Bill felt the colour drain from his face, knowing what he planned to do.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't." He tried to warn. The rest of what he would have told them was cut short as Gideon pulled a single thread from the tie.

Instantly, Bill was withering and screaming on the ground. It felt as if a razor blade was scraping across him, his innards on fire. A searing pain was all that flooded his mind, he could not wish for anything more for than it to stop. In this time, Mabel gave a ghostly screech and was flying in wobbly circles of their heads. Still laying down, he looked up at the two men now standing above him. He was panting as if he had run a marathon, his lungs felt as if they were about to burst like a balloon. As soon as the agony had appeared and taken over, it vanished again with out a trace. The invisible cause of such suffering never revealing itself.

"P-please." He croaked, "N-never do t-that again. It hurts, it hurts so much."

Eventually, he hoisted himself back up on to the chair where he was originally sitting. Trembling all over, the sensation still echoing in his mind over and over, he looked at the two with the utmost loathing. When he had been partially binded to his hat and tie, some of his feeling remained with them. So when even the smallest fraction of the tie had been pulled, it pained him too. Both Dipper and Gideon already knew this, and were more than willing to use it to their own full advantage.

_"I am you." _ It had said. It was true, it was him. The magnified hate and destructive will inside of him, confined to those little objects. That's all a demon really was, the ability to project your destructive ways to the point of impossibility,

_"That's not quite true you know. Obviously there's more to me than **that**."_

He shivered, wondering if he had really heard the other him say so. Even through the confusion and remnants of pain, the man still managed the courage to lie.

"I think, she might be with Pacifica. They were close before you know."

The two looked between each other, thinking it over. After a few seconds pause, they both seemed to agree that it was some what plausible.

"Well then, let's take a trip to town hall." Dipper said with an apathetic shrug.

They strolled off with out so much as a backwards glance to the man they had just driven through a world of suffering for the answer to one question. What they even want with Mabel? What use did they have with her? There were so many pains they had gone through to try and keep her under their control. The blond made a mental note to warn Pacifica that she might receive some unexpected visitors and to play innocent.

He looked up at Mabel who was still trying to fly around. He smiled a little at her efforts and persistence in remaining in the air. It was impressive how she had learned to do so with in a few seconds. The man held out his arm, leaving a target for her to land on.

Mabel saw this and tried to figure out how to position herself in order to land safely. After a few attempts, she spread out her massive wings and dived down at his arm. Keeping her feet out in front of her, she managed to get a grip on his arm. He winced as her talons sank into his arm, but steadied her front with a hand.

Too late did he realize she would not appreciate having his hand resting on her chest. Despite being in the owl form for a few minutes, she still thought as if she were in her human one. With another screech, she tried to nip his hand, her sharp beak making little clicks as she did so.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He amended.

He set her on the ground and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Mabel changed back in to her normal human self. She was a little disheveled and her hair was messy, but she was otherwise unharmed by the transformation.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Yes, after being turned into an owl and having a close encounter with the one person I thought I could trust. My brother, the person who I grew up with is now the same person who wants to, wants to-"

Her voice broke and she looked away, trying to hold back her tears.

"I'm fine Bill," she remarked sarcastically, "just fine."


	12. House Call

**Hey guys, this last bit of June is going to be really busy with me for school. I've barely finished chapter 13, and 14, 15, 16, are only written down on paper. Please expect some later updates.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Having observed the actions between the yellow thing, Waddles decided that he was definitely _not_ human. He had seen it with his own two eyes, he had turned Mabel into an owl. And the way he had rolled on the ground in pain as part of that tie was pulled wasn't human either. Unless he was weirdly obsessed with the treatment of bow ties. Waddles decided the yellow man should now be dubbed the yellow thing. Or maybe it would be easier to just call him Yellow?

While he was suspicious of Yellow, there wasn't much he could do. Perhaps it was just a harmless little secret, something he kept close. And if it didn't harm him or Mabel, he was passable. He watched as Yellow paced around the living room, occasionally tripping as he veered off towards the uneven stones that made the fireplace hearth. The pig did not know why exactly he was doing so. He had followed him around for a little while, but stopped as he got dizzy from so many laps around the coffee table.

While Waddles was intelligent for a pig, even he had his limits. He was never the best at gauging emotions or facial expressions, seeing as pigs were not renown for having many facial expressions of their own. Lately Mabel had been feeling down, more liable to burst in to tears. She wasn't so much shy as she was upset. But shd did have reasons to be with all the changes of the past few weeks.

In actuality, it was nothing too serious, just a few hormones doing their thing. The only problem with this was both Waddles and Bill were clueless to this. Of course he was used to it when they had been together before, but now he attributed it to the horrors that had befallen her. So, he felt the need to try and cheer her up even more, despite the endeavor being gallant, yet completely hopeless.

"What could she want?" He asked out to himself. "Chocolate's always nice of course, and she was perfectly willing to listen about the arts. That's it! Waddles I have an idea! There's no way it couldn't work!"

* * *

"I can't believe it didn't work!"

Several pitiful ideas later, he had succumbed to tailing Mabel around the house with puppy eyes. Asking for at least one smile. Mabel was already feeling irate, and now having to continually walk got on her nerves. She was making progress, but she prefered solitude to company any day.

"Please?" He begged the woman.

The brunette gave a sigh, got up from the kitchen chair, and went outside. Why didn't he understand she just wanted some time to herself? She wanted to sort her thoughts a little as fragments of things returned back to her memories. A short conversation, her latest misadventure with a coffee flavoured omelet, even her job as she worked at the Gravity Falls Art Museum. These were things she wanted to keep to herself, they felt almost intimate in a way.

"Please?"

Mabel rolled her eyes at the voice coming from the house. She paused her walking away as an idea came to her mind.

"Please Mabel can you just- aaarrraahhhggg!"

Mabel had climbed up on to the roof of the cabin and had the hose in hand. Now turned on to the jet setting, she watched as Bill ran around trying to avoid the cold torrent of water. As soon as he stopped running for a moment, Mabel enjoyed the power of spraying him.

So caught up in his avoiding the water was the blond, he did not see the car pull up on the driveway.

"House call!" Doctor Hirsch announced.

The old man was in his civilian clothing, but his wispy goatee and white hair were still messy as ever. It was lucky he was dressed like this because he ended up getting sprayed by Mabel too.

"Ahh! I just wanted to check on you two!"

Mabel stopped her amusing attack on the men, realizing who she had just soaked to the bone. Relieved that his attack was now over, the man collapsed in the doctor's arms, farther soaking him.

"Would you mind coming down off the roof Mabel?" He asked.

The woman looked at him uncertainty. Was he going to reprimand her for soaking him? Not only that, he knew Dipper too. What was to say that he wasn't on Dipper's side? For all she knew, he had already conspired with him to ensure that she would never escape his control again. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. He had always liked Dipper, the old man always said that Dipper reminded him of his own self no matter the boy's age. If he was like Dipper, then it was only logical to assume he was out to get her.

Rather than stay on the roof, she descended and stood behind Bill. At least he would know better than to let the doctor get his hands on her.

"Mabel, I can't give you a check-up if you're all the way over there." Doctor Hirsch said.

The woman stared at him from behind the blond, still afraid to do anything else. Like Stan, Alex was reminded of the time when a now three year old Mabel had been taken to the doctor's. Now no longer a baby, she was almost like a miniature version of his own twin sister in looks and personality. Ariel had been shy when she was younger, but not painfully shy like Mabel was. When he tried to check her reflexes, she had kicked him. When he inspected her throat, she bit him. But unlike the old man, he had not learned his lesson about how shy she really could be. So as he finally managed to tap her knees, he received a kick to the gut.

Recoiling a little, he wheezed;

"Her reflexes are fine."

The demon smirked as his elderly friend got his just deserts for his antics.

"And so are her teeth!" He hissed, shaking his hand and staring down at the red marks forming on his finger.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" The blond said in a sing song voice.

Alex muttered a few curses under his breath before attempting to listen to her heart beat. But as he was rewarded with another kick to the groin. He collapsed on the ground and backed away, glaring at his younger friend the man snapped;

"All right! I give up! You win this one! Happy?"

"N-not r-really." Mabel stuttered , turning her back to them and making her way back to the house.

Both the men watched as she sat down on the deck, eyeing them suspiciously. Waddles nudged his way on to her lap and she stroked his ears, but she kept her eyes trained on the two. The blond gave an apathetic shrug, it was better than her usual anxious state of mind. The doctor gave a low whistle through his teeth.

"You always were one for melodrama, but what the hell is this?!"

"You're the doctor."

"And you're the one with a degree in psychology."

"But Aleeeeeeeeexxxx-"

"No buts except your's on the deck helping her, there's not much I can do."

"You know, you sounded a lot like Stan there." The officer mused.

"We were close when we were younger, it would come as no surprise."

He raised an eyebrow, interested at this little fact.

"Who's older, you or Stan?"

The old man grinned. If he had been more familiar with his own face, the demon would have realized how it looked exactly like his own in the spur of the moment.

"I'd tell you, but it would rip a hole in the universe." The white haired man said cryptically.

For a person who looked so old and rickety, he sure could run. Alex sprinted back to his car, laughing like a maniac. Backing out of the drive way, he rolled down the window to this car and called;

"I'll talk to you later!"

Bill, who had not even bothered to ask for an explanation to his words rolled his eyes. No matter what, their conversations always seemed to end in the same way. Alex Hirsch and his god complex running off, leaving him in the dust.

He strolled over to the porch where Mabel was now looking away, concentrating on the space around him.

"Come on Mabel, what was all that about?" He delicately questioned.

"H-he likes D-D-Di- my b-brother. H-he always s-said they were t-too similar."

This was also new found knowledge to the blond. That man was just wrapped in surprises!

"So you thought he might be working with him?" He concluded.

"O-or f-for himself."

Taking a seat next to her on the porch swing, he said;

"What makes you think that?"

"Do you have any idea what he could want, either of them could want from me?"

As the question sunk in, he was forced to tuck away the guilt at the mention. Hesitantly, the man rested a hand on her her shoulder and have it a petit squeeze.

"I don't know Mabel, I don't know." He trailed.

_"Yes you do-oooo!" _A voice teased in the forerunner of his inner dialog.

_"N-no! Don't you dare-"_

_"To late."_

The demon pulled her in to a side hug, stroking her hair. She struggled a moment, the proximity terrifying her. She had not found or allowed anyone else this close to her for a while now. Any memory she had of it had been repressed. The feeling of human contact was a friendly reminder to her. It was a reminder of what she had been denied from her brother and everyone else in her little world. Someone to be there as she felt down, even if it was just because she was only a bit crazy at the moment. Dipper had taken that away from her as he had stripped away her trust, and having it return, she began to tear up.

The dry sobs she tried to force back broke. She made no move to return the embrace, so he did so by pulling her even closer to his chest. Suddenly, she was aware of how glad she was to have him holding her as if it would stop the fragments that were now her mind from falling away.

His jacket smelled nice, like something spicy and sweet at the same time, there was also a hint of something mysterious that she could only describe has him. It made her crave more of the strange scent. There was a pleasant aura of cold around him, it rolled off him in waves, freezing her to the very core. The cold, tucking away everything that had dared touch her, freezing them in theirs tracks...

"Shhh, it's ok Shooting Star, it's ok..."

He smirked as she did not even bother to protest the pet name. The woman trembled a fraction at the familiar name she had always associated with him, and began to realize who she was holding on to. Rather than pull away from her, the demon eased a hand behind her neck and he stroked her hair. Every time he did so, her shudders became more violent, so he began to sooth her.

"Shhh, you'll be fine, I won't let them hurt you again Shooting Star. Never again. I won't let them or anyone come near you, they'll never be able to harm you again. You'll stay safe with me, just me."

"But-"

"But what?" The demon hissed. Abruptly the odd sense of nervousness and calm was replaced with an imminent,threatening air.

"L-let go of m-me." The brunette manged to whisper.

"What if I don't want to?" He smoothly replied. "What if I'd rather let you be my little Shooting Star?"

"My name is Mabel." She snarled this time.

A confused look came over the man, and he pushed away the woman. A faint blush spread across his cheeks, and he yawned as if he had awoken from a deep sleep. He stood up and stretched too, farther giving the impression that he had been asleep. Mabel expected him to wave off his action with farther apologies, but he stumbled off to the back of the house.

* * *

_ " I think I'm going to be sick!"_

_"Gross, at least wait till I'm out of sight!"_

"You!" He called out to the sky.

"Yes, me. And can you stop with the being sick, it hurts me too you know."

"Good." The man coughed.

"Pathetic." The voice sneered, "Withdrawal symptoms, really?"

"It's not withdrawal from using my powers, it's you."

"I'm crying in to my hankie."

Changing the subject, the young man asked;

"I'm not in control of my sight at the moment, where are we exactly?"

"Your home away from home."

The man mulled over the riddle a second before replying;

"The woods?"

"Brilliant, I always was envious of how quickly you could figure these type of things. I may as well let you take control for now."

The man's sights began to clear, large majestic trees surrounding him. Luckily, he was not very deep in the forest, he could see his house through some gaps in the trees. But rather than being alone like he had suspected, the blond started as a ghostly pale version of him leaned against a tree, bored.

"What did you just do?" The officer questioned.

"As in to Mabel? Or how did I make my way out of our mind?"

"The latter, no the first, both!"

"She's fine, she won't be traumatized. More than she already was that is." The mirror image breezily replied.

The man frowned a bit and crossed his arms.

"And how are you standing right here?"

"Can't you leave a little mystery in life? Where's the fun in knowing everything?" It asked, floating around.

"If I knew everything, I'd be able to tell you."

"How have your powers been lately?"

The blond smiled a bit and turned the other's hair green.

"Ah! Not funny!" The demon rubbed his hair till it became the usual dirty blond again. "Have you been tired, or feeling weak lately? Like you could fade in to thin air?"

He saw where the demon was going and answered;

"I haven't been relying on my powers, I've been fine."

Rather than smirk like expected, the mirror image frowned and floated over to him.

"Really? You haven't been feeling weak with out our tie and hat?"

"No."

"Hmmm." The other one began to stroke under his chin, thinking something over. "Well... All right then."

"You were trying to convince me to go find them again? You're feeling weaker aren't you? Because we haven't been close for a while now."

"Yup, you caught me. Seriously Bill, just try something a little more powerful for a minute."

The man gave the demon a suspicious look, wondering what exactly he had in mind. The other Bill did not even bother to deny his assumptions. After all, he always was scheming. Taking a deep breath, the man let a ball of fire circle around in his hands, the blue tounges of flames twisted around his hands in serpentine patterns, growing hotter and hotter. Gradually, he inhaled and exhaled more deeply, the fire contracting and expanding with the oxygen in his lungs.

"Keep going." The other him encouraged.

Naturally, he took this as a sign to stop, but the demon could have been using reverse psychology too. Giving a maniacal cackle, fire consumed his body, a wave of intense heat rolling off of him.

"All right, all right, that's enough." The demon informed him.

Eventually, he calmed down the flames burning down to nothing more than glowing cinders.

"How do you feel now?" The demon asked.

"I. Feel. Fine." Bill said truthfully. But his knees buckled on him, and he landed face first in the dirt.

Now that he was passed out, the demon grinned and allowed himself to become ghost like again. With the ease of a man who clearly enjoyed his work, he slipped in to the man's mind. Blinking and stretching, he waited till the circulation in his wrists returned. It felt as if he had awoken from a deep slumber, his thoughts becoming more coherent and defined then they had been in months now.

_"Sonofabitch! Get out of my body!"_

The demon only laughed at the futile attempts to reclaim his body. He stood up and rubbed the dirt off of his cheek, letting his senses adjust to his surroundings.

"It's your own fault for weakening yourself. I'm in control now, there been a few things I've wanted to take care of."

_"No! Bill don't you dare-"_

"What's that? I can't hear you over me ignoring you. Just sit back and admire my handiwork, it's not like you can do anything."

_"When I get my body back-"_

"_If, _you get your body back. I wouldn't count on it if I can find the rest of our powers."

_"I gave them to Dipper and Gideon for a reason you know. They'll kill us if you try anything."_

Walking back to the house, the demon waved off the warnings. Why should he care? He was a thousand times more powerful than those two fools. They could barely grasp the concept of what exactly he had been doing to them.

Pine Tree more distant from his sister, eventually driving her away. And Short-Stack closer to the man, working in tandem with their journals. Of course the male twin needed more persistent reminders of what exactly he wanted him to do, but he carried out his tasks well.

"Nonsense, I'm- we're a police officer. I'm sure a little-" He snapped his fingers, "Persuasion would change their minds. After all, the whole dream-demon thing helps when it comes to that."

He sprinted the rest of the way to the house. With lightning speed, he tore through his closet, found a clean uniform and clipped his pistol on to his belt. Running back outside, the blond mounted the bike and drove off, sending dust and pebbles flying.


	13. Wizard of Oz Day

**Guess who got her braces off? Me-e-ee! And to commemorate the removal of my fours years of medieval torture- I mean orthidontic treatment, I've posted the next chapter! My teeth feel so smooth, and free, and smooth. But when I wake up in the morning, I probably won't be able to eat anything for the next two weeks, I have a retainer to get used to, and having brackets (Actually having anything done.) Leaves your teeth sore for a while. But the best part, my orthodontist gives you this huge basket of al the things you couldn't (But did anyways.) Eat. So now I can just binge on smart food, and candy, and chocolates, and packages of gum...**

**Oh, right, that whole, story thing. I love this chapter, it's my favourite out of all the posted ones. It was fun to write, it's a fun setting, and we get a little MaBill while we're at it. Which come to think of it might be a bad thing considering the last chapter's drama...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls Or the Wizard of Oz.**

* * *

The demon did not even have a chance to seek out Dipper or Gideon. Before he could even take five steps, a crazy-looking Pacifica ran up to him. Her normally perfect hair was messy, and she was holding several posters under her arm, and a large box in her hands.

"There you are! Where the _hell _have you been?!" The mayor snarled.

"What do you mean?" He asked, annoyed he had been stopped in his tracks.

"Pio- Wizard of Oz Day is today! You're on duty, Blubs and Durland have this day off! Technically. They never really do anything... so it's up to you!"

She handed him the box and ran off. Scrawled on one side was "Costumes, your's and Mabel's." Seething, he knew there was no way he could skip this. The woman would suspect, and he was pretty sure he had made a promise to Mabel. He struggled a bit with the box and placed it in the side car.

"Jeeze what are we going as, rocks?!"

He drove off, muttering to himself. But there was at least a consolation to this; Dipper and Gideon would surely be in town some time today, and with the crowd he'd have a chance to steal either thing back. Actually, this was such a big plus he smirked to himself. This would be an even better opportunity then he had come up with before. What a nice twist of fate.

When he got back home, Mabel was out sitting on her favourite spot on the porch. The woman was still on edge from what he had done earlier, yet she was curious enough about the box to ask;

"What's in it?"

"Pacifica gave us our stuff for this afternoon." He grunted, trying not to drop the box.

Much to his surprise, she squealed and picked up the box from him. With a Mabel-like energy he had not seen in forever, she tore off the tape with her nails and ran inside with the box. He rolled his eyes, knowing he would have to remind her to be discreet when it came to hiding who she was.

He strolled inside and nearly tripped over the cursed box. Evidently, she woman had already picked out her costume. There was only so much his back could take, so he ended up pushing it with his foot to his room. Not wanting Mabel to walk in on him changing, he called to the bathroom;

"Shooting Star I'm getting changed in here, ok?"

"It's Mabel." She replied softly from the bathroom.

Turning back to the box, he took a breath and hoped Pacifica had some taste in costumes. He pulled out a set of wings with real dark brown and black feathers, a tail, and a small mask that covered his eyes. A note was attached to it.

"Bill, wear one of your black suits, not yellow, black, and clip the tail to your belt. Put on the wings and mask, and tada! You're one of the winged monkeys!" He read out loud.

The demon did as he was told, pulling out one of his numerous tuxes. He smiled as he slipped it on, feeling more in control then he had in years. Now if only he had his hat. Of course there were always other ties, but his hat was a one of a kind thing. At least he'd have it back by the time this was all over.

"Are you done yet?" Mabel asked, peering through the door.

"Sure come in."

"Err, could you actually come out here?"

"Why?"

"I need help with the back of the dress." The brunette said sheepishly.

He opened the door to see Mabel in a very large and poofy dress. She was holding it up in the chest, and it was clear to see why. Mabel and Pacifica were two different sizes completely. While it fit in the waist, the bust too small for her.

The blond burst out laughing, holding on to the door frame in order not to fall over. Mabel blushed, and looked away.

"I-is there a-anyway we could fix this?" She asked, her stutter returning.

The demon stopped laughing long enough to nod and lead her in to the bedroom. Wiping away some tears, he opened the walk in closet. He pulled out a dress bag and handed it to her.

"Try this." He smirked, pushing her in the washroom again.

Still red-faced, the young woman sighed and wriggled out of the dress. Carefully, she unzipped the bag and pulled out the dress. Mabel gasped and instantly slipped in to the new dress, amazed at how perfectly it fit and just how gorgeous it was.

The skirt fanned out gracefully, trailing behind her in an fairly tale style. The body of it shimmered in the slightest, revealing an embroidered pattern of tiny stars with tails behind them. The sleeves were long and fluttery, and as she waved her arms, it felt as if she had wings. Mabel was so wrapped up in the beauty of the silky dress, it came to her as a surprise when she realized;

_"This was my wedding dress..."_

To only farther confirm the theory, she pulled out a small gold hair piece that attached the veil to her head. Mabel shivered, not liking the feeling that spread through her fingertips as she held it. It was a reminder of something she would rather forget.

_"We had been engaged. He, and I..."_

The brunette carefully tucked away the pin, wanting to focus on something more cheerful. Instead, he slipped on her own wings, a shimmering gossamer, and pulled out the gold crown. It was the same one Pacifica had won at Stan's party all those years ago, declaring her the Party Queen. Mabel felt a strange triumph in wearing it, as if she had finally received the rightful title as Party Queen. After all, Pacifica had bribed and threatened the voters.

Now perfectly dressed as the good witch of the South, the brunette stepped out of the washroom. Bill had no idea what he had been expecting. He figured the dress would just fit better then the old one, she would look nice. But as he saw the radiant woman before him, wearing the reminder of what they were not. He was speechless The only thing he could think to do was bow and declare;

"M' lady."

Pushing the boundaries a little, he gently took her hand and pressed his lips to it. Seeing as she didn't recoil, he took that as a good sign. Offering her his arm, he asked;

"Shall we go?"

The woman did not take up on his offer, but nodded. He felt a prick of annoyance at this, but it was decimated at the reminder of what he was about to do. It wouldn't be long until they were back in his clutches. After that, all else would follow.

* * *

Since Pacifica had taken over as mayor many changes had taken over the town; She was devoted to keeping the streets cleaner, and public areas maintained, she had helped repair some of the older buildings, all while keeping the town's old charm. She had not bothered to try and enforce new laws or changes in taxes on the people, either way it made no change to them. Instead she had focused on attracting more tourists to the town. Originally, she had Stan to help her in that field, but now she had to pull most of the weight.

One of these changes was to Pioneer Day. Everyone had agreed that there was no real fun left in the holiday, and the unanimous decision to have a Wizard of Oz day took it's place. Everyone could dress up as whom ever they wanted, there would be a screening of the movie in the Northwest Mansion, and various booths and events had been set up through the day. It would end with a dance in the town square, and free hand outs from the diner.

The mayor was nervously pacing along the stage that had been set up in the town square. She was to do a short speech about something or the other. The normally confident woman was worried about whether or no the idea could be pulled off or not. True she was a very credible mayor, but the people of Gravity Falls weren't exactly bright.

A crowd slowly filed in and the woman had to stop herself from looking nervous. Instead, she smiled and waved down at the various Dorothys, lions, tin men, scarecrows, and other iconic characters. She herself was dressed up as the Wicked Witch of the West. Complete with green make up, a black dress, pointy hat, and broom. Finally, the clock struck three, and she prepared to speak.

Tapping the mic a few times, she prepared to speak.

"Hello Gravity Falls! How are you all doing today?"

Various answers met her and she grinned, continuing on with her speech. She went on about the activities that would go on that day.

"We'll have a contest to decide on the best dressed, judged by moi along with Deputy Durland, Sheriff Blubs, and Constable Cipher."

The group cheered and all three officers waved to the crowd from their spots by the podium.

"And to top it off, we'll have a scavenger hunt going on through out the day, free pizza from the diner. And don't forget, a dance! Now go enjoy your day Gravity Falls!"

The majority of the group cleared before wandering off to the various booths and attractions. Pacifica sighed, glad the speech was over and she could just have fun for the rest of the day. A slightly figity Mabel walked over to her. Wringing her hands a bit the young woman said;

"H-hey."

"Hi Mabel," She gave distractedly in return. "Wait. What happened to the dress I gave you?"

"Surely, " Bill drawled, walking up to the two, "A person as attentive to details as you would have notice that you're two completely different dress sizes?"

Pacifica blushed a little, but rather than stay silent, she smartly said;

"You're supposed to be on duty you know."

"Don't remind me." He mumbled.

"What that you're supposed to be off preventing crime and enforcing the law?"

The demon huffed angrily before threading his way through the crowd. Placing her hands on her hips, the mayor said;

"What's been with him today?"

"He was acting strange today." The other woman supplied. "Maybe me brushing him off today and then spraying him with the hose had something to do with it."

The blonde chuckled.

"That might have done it. I thought he was still annoyed over all the Wizard of Oz jokes."

"Why did you pick a Wizard of Oz Day?"

"Well why not? More attractions, and I don't have to go around being nice or snobby to everyone."

"Won't people recognize you?"

"Under this make up? No. And you have your mask, so we're total strangers to everyone. What do you want to do first."

"G-go somewhere less c-crowded." She suddenly whispered.

There was no need for her to ask why. Mabel's instant change in attitude was enough.

"Which way?" She asked.

"Behind that man holding- dropping his free pizza."

Craning her neck, she was just able to see around the (Now upset.) man. Dipper was wearing a green suit, with a black top hat that had a green ribbon tied around it, going as the Wizard of Oz, while Gideon was in a golden yellow suit, that clashed horribly with his complexion. He had a fake lion's mane on, and was obviously going as the Cowardly Lion. Dipper said something to his friend before walking off, and the fraudulent psychic peered around the crowd.

Pacifica instantly lead Mabel in the opposite direction, walking farther down town. The two women walked for at least three minutes until they found a less crowded area. There were only a few booths here, most related to cinematography at the time of the movie, and it's production. A few people aimlessly wandered around, but none seemed genuinely interested. Here they deemed it safe to rest.

"You ok Mabel?" She asked the shivering woman.

Mabel didn't reply and shook her head instead. Before things could become any more tense between the two, an interesting sight met them.

"Is that Old Man McGucket-" Pacifica began.

"Dressed as Toto?" Mabel finished.

Sure enough, the old man was walking on all fours, and appeared to be wearing a head band with dog ears over them, and he was covered in some sort of black substance.

"I hope he's wearing clothes under that." The blonde said vaguely.

"But why Toto?"

"He's not dressed as Toto," A voice behind them said, "He fell in to the mud."

Both of them turned to face Dipper. Mabel wasn't even sure if she could reply or no. If felt as if a bucket of ice water was sloshing around in her gut, her pulse tripled at how close her brother was. It was worse this time around because she could not pretend to be asleep. She had to look her brother right in the cold, grey eyes as he addressed them.

_"Grey eyes?!"_

"Really? That's mud?" Pacifica asked.

Dipper smirked and said;

"He fell into the lake."

"Ohhh."

Turning his attention to Mabel, the young man asked;

"And you are?"

"She's a school friend from my French studies."

"Bonjour, ça va?" Mabel asked in her limited French vocabulary.

"Errr..."

"Croissant avion chiene tu va le?"

Pacifica fought back a laugh. She had no idea what was funnier; Mabel's terrible accent and nonsensical French, or Dipper's pure confusion.

"J'adore serpents dans l'autume."

"Errr... Nice to meet you to." Dipper politely replied. "Well, I need to go be somewhere else right now."

He quickly jogged off, flustered at the encounter. As soon as he was out of sight, Pacifica began to laugh so hard she started to hiccup.

"I f-fail to s-see what was funny in that." Mabel said, feeling put out a her reaction.

The woman continued to giggle, only making her feel worse and worse. She was being kept out again, not being told something. She was keeping something away from her, a secret. Just like what Dipper had done...

"I'm going off to find Bill." She muttered, not waiting for a reply.

Pacifica continued to laugh, unaware she had left, and could easily be walking in to impending danger.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Bill was prowling through the more crowded streets. He had only caught a glance of his targets while on stage with Pacifica and the other officers. He knew he had to look out for the colour green, or a flash of that beige-gold, but it suddenly seemed as if everyone was either dressed as the Cowardly Lion or the Wizard of Oz. Despite the futility of his plan at the time, the blonde could not help but smirk. Talk about ideal casting. A fraud who pretended to be someone and create a false reality, and a coward.

Squeezing past a family dressed as the quartet of main characters, the demon found himself back in the middle of town square. Here, there were the most people all fighting to buy tickets in order to see the screening inside the Northwest Mansion. Blubs and Durland were in charge of ticket sales, but they became so overwhelmed with all the screaming people thrusting handfuls of money in to their faces, they just started throwing the tickets off the stage and in to the crowd. Normally, Bill would have let the two incompetents do their own thing, but their idea was only making the group of people more crazy as they all demanded to get the best seats.

Rolling his eyes, he sauntered up on to the stage, glared at a few of the people closest to him, and pulled out his pistol. Firing a few of the blanks he had been designated for just this purpose, everyone stopped arguing. With their attention now focused on him, the officer commanded;

"Just make a line for god's sake! There are more then enough seats."

The group was silent for a moment before arguing broke out again. The demon sighed in disgust before aiming his weapon at the crowd. Not knowing he only had blanks, they froze again, not wanting to be his target. Eventually, he was able to make the people form a line leading around the stage. Now, he took to overseeing the ticket sales, making sure no one got away with anything. It was then, a flash of emerald green caught his attention.

Sure enough, Dipper was threading his way through the people, tickets already in hand. Deciding (Rather unwisely really.) That Blubs and Durland could hold their own, Bill followed the young man through the group, not letting his eyes off him for a second. After a few more minutes of stalking, Dipper came to a stop, resting on a bench as he checked his cell phone, probably texting Gideon in order to find where his friend had gone off to.

Now was his chance. Calculating the distance between him, the bench, and the near by alley, he knew what needed to be done. Coming up behind him, he would take the hat and run down the alley, which would lead him to Circle Park, where he could either run in to the woods if he was being followed, or over to the police station where he could lock away his hat until he could come back for it.

Weaving his way through another throng of people, the demon crept up on his target with a stealthy precision. He leaned against a tree, hoping that Dipper would hot see him approaching in the reflection of his cell phone screen. Finally, he was so close, just a few more steps and his hat would be back in it's rightful hands. Should he need to fight anyone off, his powers would be better than ever for subtly defending himself.

_"Just a little more..."_

"Bill!" A voice whispered in his ear.

The officer was not sure if he wanted to scream in fright or annoyance. As Mabel had startled him, Dipper had stood up, making him loose his chance at swiping back the top hat.

"What?" He hissed, not caring about his tone.

Frightened by his reaction, Mabel took a few scared steps away from him.

"I had to leave Pacifica behind," she lied, "Could I stay with you?"

"Fine." He replied gruffly, not even noticing the clear lie in her voice.

But after two whole minutes of being with him, Mabel was starting to regret her idea. The blond was constantly walking everywhere, not even bothering to see if she was behind him or not. Her feet were already tired in the sandals she was wearing under the dress, and she could barely keep up with him. The demon seemed to be searching for something in the crowd restlessly. Having done a complete circuit of the more busy streets, Mabel finally snapped.

"Could we please stop for at least a minute?"

Turning on her, he was about to say something harshly, when a sight caught his attention.

"Shooting Star, is that Gideon over there?"

He pointed to the dunk tank where sure enough, the man had been urged and cheered on by the crowd to that the position on the seat.

"Perfect." He smirked.

"Do you want to go over there?" The woman asked hopefully.

"Yes."

They both ran off, forcing their way to the front of the group. The man could have screamed in pure rage. The albino was not wearing his black tie as usual, but the red ribbon the lion wore in the movie.

"Who would like to step up and dunk this gentleman? What about you there, the winged monkey?"

If he could not get his tie back, he may as well have revenge. The couple shared a devilish grin, and the blond stepped up, handing the man running the attraction a five. Before anyone could react, he had nailed the ball once, twice, three times at the target, sending the man back in to the water before he could even catch his breath. Everyone laughed as Gideon floundered around, his suit and mane sticking to him. The carnie handed Mabel a prize for winning, stating;

"A prize, for your girlfriend. "

Under the mask, Mabel blushed, but the couple was too excited to really care. Not wanting to attract any more attention they wandered off, Bill lost yet again in finding what ever it was he was looking for. After a while of staring down at the prize she had gotten, Mabel announced;

"I think I'll name it... Grunkle Stan."

"Grunkle Stan?" He asked, confused. "What exactly did you win?"

The brunette held up the stuffed toy. It was a little black dog, that was probably supposed to be Toto. It was black, and a dog. The resemblance stopped there. Both eyes were sewn on in the wrong spots and were completely different colours, the fur was scruffy, and one of it's legs were bent backwards. The nose was so far back on the dog's snout, it looked as if it did not have one at all.

"Errr... I don't see the resemblance?"

"When did I say you had to?" She replied.

Before he could retort, Mabel ran off, tugging his arm.

"Ohhh! Cotton candy!" She cooed.

"You'll ruin your teeth." He informed her, watching as the woman bought herself some.

"Welll then you can ruin your teeth with me," She smiled.

"No, no, I'm-"

Rather then being able to finish his sentence, the blond got mouthful of cotton candy. He would have protested, trying to remember what he was supposed to be looking for right now, but Mabel had reminded him of what a terrible sweet tooth he had. He snatched some of the pink and blue spun sugar out of her hands, delighting in the melty, sweet taste.

"Hey!" Mabel protested, "Bill, that's mine!"

He smiled, displaying sugary-pink teeth.

"Well it's mine now."

The young woman fake pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.

_"God I could kiss you right now."_

"Must. Resist. Puppy eyes." He pretended to struggle.

"Biiiiiiiilllllllll." She whined, trying to reach the cotton candy.

"Shooting Staaaaaaar." He whined back.

Yet he decided to stop teasing her and pulled a few strands of the fluff.

"Say ahhh."

She let him place the candy in her mouth, and he scarfed down the rest.

"By chance did you switch your mind with Waddles?"

"Oink, oink." He snorted, licking the remaining sugar off his lips. "If you're so torn up about it we'll go buy some more."

But something else caught his attention as they walked back over to the food stands. One of the men was dressed as the Wizard of Oz. She had distracted him from his goals! She would never truly be his unless he got his powers back. He could no longer afford any more distractions.

"No, wait! Let's get candy apples instead!"

Or maybe later.

* * *

The duo had a wonderful time, eating any fair food they could get their hands on. They were both so caught up in the amazing combination of cheese curds, gravy, and french fries (A greasy and addictive Canadian food known as poutine.)they were surprised to hear the old clock strike five.

Everyone stopped and listened to the deep chiming, to confirm the correct time. Once five notes had reverberated through the air, everyone was pushing their way past each other in order to get the best spots at the movie. The couple was nearly forced apart and then pushed uncomfortably close by the people all moving around them.

"Did you get tickets? " Mabel asked.

"Policemen and a guest of their choice get in free." He gloated, waving his police badge.

"By chance do we get free refreshments too?"

"They're free for everyone, but I wouldn't recommend it. The bulk popcorn kernels Pacifica got were donated courtesy of Stanford Pines. And if you remember anything about the movie night he had in February..."

A flit of hurt crossed her face, and Mabel's grin faded.

"I don't remember anything from then."

Realizing what he had reminded the woman of. Mabel flinched away from him as he tried to give her shoulder a reassuring pat, so he tried to lighten the mood instead.

"Botom line, rocks are not edible."

The brunette tried to smile back, but she was starting to feel queasy. It could have been all the junk food, or how closely surrounded she was by people, or the fact Dipper was still out there, but she didn't feel so light-hearted anymore. She lapsed back in to her usual calm brooding instead. The demon noted this, and decided it was for the best anyways. The green he was now well acquainted with darted in and out a few meters ahead of him.

He tugged sharply on Mabel's wrist making sure he did not loose her as he pursued the man. They squeezed past the ticket stand that had been set up, and the blond took a seat as close to Dipper as possible. The only problem with this was that the chairs had been set up on risers like a real theater, so those in the back rows could see. They were two rows behind the younger Mystery Twin, and high enough off the ground to see around the large costumes, and his top hat.

_"Did he have to tie that stupid green ribbon around it?!"_

Already a new plan was forming in head head on how he could steal the hat. He would wait until one of the more absorbing sceens in the movie, or better yet until Dipper had fallen asleep. Then, he would simply reclaim his hat, Mabel, and the rest of his powers. Perhaps having him fall asleep would work better, it certainly would have been a lot easier.

"I got us coffee." Gideon announced, taking a seat next to his friend.

"Thanks!" He said, taking one of the coffees.

Gideon blushed slightly and added;

"The popcorn was donated courtesy of your great-uncle, so I passed up on it."

Dipper snorted, nearly spilling his coffee.

"Just wait a few minutes and we'll be able to tell how bad it is."

Already, people were spitting out mouthfuls of the disgustingly state kernels coated in grease. The two laughed as more and more people discovered how terrible to snacks were, comparing it to the one sold at the Mystery Shack's Movie Night of Mystery. But while they were smiling, a scowl had etched it's way on the demon's face. Of all the times for this to happen!

As the lights dimmed and the movie started, he realized he would have to do. He took a few calming breaths, focusing his will on one thing. Subtly, he tried to influence the man's thoughts from the top hat. It was a valuable trick he had learned, never out right forcing people to do his commands. One had to guess what the other was thinking, going through at the time. Annoyance? Indifference? Interest? Yes, indifference seemed right...

_"Zzzz what a boring movie, how are you even still awake?"_

_"You didn't even get a proper rest last night."_

_"Don't your eyes feel so heavy?"_

_"Don't you feel so relaxed?"_

_"Yes, you do. You'd much rather be sleeping."_

_"It's not that great of a movie anyways, you'd hardly be missing anything."_

The young man finally yawned, slumping over in his seat. Internally, the blond cheered to himself and waited until he was absolutely sure he was asleep.

_"Sweet dreams Pine Tree."_

He made a move to walk over to Dipper, when Mabel yawned and leaned her head on to his chest. The demon froze, shocked as she continued to doze off, her head buried in his jacket. The man shook of the calming feeling over her easy breaths, and was going to push her away when she moaned a tiny bit.

"Don't move." She mumbled in to his chest.

He would have stood up anyways, but he suddenly felt just as tired himself. The warmth of her breath was so relaxing, he could hold her like this forever and ever. His, she would be his and no one else's.

"Mine." He whispered in her hair. "All mine."


	14. Lemon Flavoured Coffee

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

"I'm tellin' ya' Dipper, it's not going ta' work unless we find 3!" Gideon said, shaking his head to get rid of the ringing in his ears.

The two men had left the fair after the movie and had been working on the gateway since. Now that it was sunrise, they ceased working for the time being. Dipper sighed and shook his head, trying to fix his messy hair.

"I know, I know. Trial and error can only get us so far."

"If by so far you mean the equivalent of a small bomb going off in our faces. If only we could find a way to stabilize the grid! Are you sure Mabel's the only one who knows where 3 is?"

Dipper did not reply for a minute as they stepped on to the elevator that would lead to the surface level. Pulling a lever and entering several characters in to a key pad, the lift began to slowly rise, gradually picking up speed.

"I'm sure of it. Stan gave it to her to hide." He snorted, "Apparently he realized he shouldn't leave it to me even back then."

"Well what about McGucket?" The albino asked, peering down the spaces between the platform uncomfortably. The elevator was little more than a platform with a metal cage around them to prevent anyone from falling off. It was understandable why anyone would find it slightly nerve wrecking.

"You know, I actually tried him yesterday."

"Squirrel for brains as usual I'm guessing?"

"You could say that."

The fraudulent psychic grinned, picking what exactly had gone on.

"We'll try again. I know how to get through to him better then most people." He remarked, thinking back to the construction of the Gideon-bot.

The elevator shuddered to a stop, and there was a quiet chime. Walking in to the gift shop, both men shivered. It was easily an extra ten degrees more humid down in the underground.

"Errr. Dipper, could I borrow a shirt?"

The other man laughed, just realizing now how messy they both were. They had been working sans shirts due to the heat, and they had no time to grab them as the grid exploded again. Before he could find one for his friend, the doorbell rang. Both walked over to the front door, and pulled it open.

Naturally, the face of who else? Bill smirked at the two.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" He asked, gesturing to their lack of shirts and how they were still panting.

Gideon's face tinged red, knowing what the demon was implying, but Dipper did not pick up on the hint.

"Yes, you were actually." The man snarled. "A promissm est a promissum."

"I can tell." He smirked to himself, not bothered by the fact Dipper had recited the dreaded incantation.

"If this is about those tickets again..."

"No, no." He waved off, "It's not about those."

The two men looked uneasily at each other, they had not been expecting this, and were wondering why he was so calm. Unlike the man they had gotten used to over the past while, the demon held himself with an eerie confidence,that bordered something more dangerous. He was too poised, too easy going for a demon who should have been frozen to the spot, under their control. Gideon was first to speak up.

"If it's not about the tickets, then what is it about?"

A malicious smile took over the man. Blue flames crackled around his body as he lunged at the two men.

"Let's just consider it, unfinished business!"

* * *

"Ohhh, what happened?" Bill wondered out to himself.

Twisting and turning in his bedsheets, he only succeeded in farther knotting the sheets around his legs. Not for the first time, when he opened his eyes, he found himself in an awkward and painful position.

He was on the couch that still served as his bed, but he had fallen asleep in his suit for some reason. Shoes, tie, belt, the whole works. This did not help his aching muscles. He hadn't felt like this since he had passed basic training in the police force. Sure he still worked out and watched his health for the most part (At least one of the officers had to be in good physical health.) but he was tired all the same. So nice of himself to leave in a time of physical pain, feeling drained and helpless as a kitten.

_"Wait.." _He thought, flexing his fingers, _"Jacket, belt, shoes, **tie**!"_

With a trembling hand, he uncurled his fist. Sure enough, a crumpled, black silk bow tie met his sights. It was frayed in one corner, as if some one had pulled at the threads a little, and gave off a frigid, dark, air of secrecy and great power. In his had, he felt a fragment of his demonic powers he had tried to strip himself of.

_"What the **hell **did you do while I was out?!"_

It took a delayed time for the voice to react. It sounded as if he were groaning in pain.

_"I admit that it was one of my lesser plans. It worked of course, but it wasn't the greatest victory."_

_"I told you to stay out of my body."_

_"Our body." _It amended, _"By the way, you missed out on an awesome Wizard of Oz Day. Shooting Star was gorgeous in her costume. At least we got some use out of that wedding dress. She had a great time, you're welcome. And I bet she's totally in love with me too now."_

_"A likely story."_

_"All right, so maybe I stretched it on the in love part, but you couldn't deny she definitely was warming up to me. Too bad you've hardly gotten anywhere with her."_

_"Shut up." _He snarled in reply.

_"I did better then you could in three. Whole. Weeks."_

_"You said something? I was too busy ignoring you."_

_"Fine, I can tell when I'm not wanted. I probably won't be in command for a day or two, so you get first use of our amazing powers. Jerk."_

The voice that had been growing fainter and fainter with every quip vanished In to the deeper recesses of his mind, biding it's time until it could continue to seek out it's goals. Glaring down at the scrap of silk, the man wondered what he was supposed to tell Mabel.

Speaking of the devil, she walked in to the living room and placed a mug of coffee on the table beside him and returning with her own. She sat in the love seat across from him and triumphantly declared;

"I remembered how you take your coffee."

He smiled warmly in reply, and picked up the steaming mug.

"Two creams-" He started.

"Two sugars." The brunette finished.

He took a sip, but a funny look contorted his face. He spat out the coffee in to the near by potted plant, and rised to get the horrible taste out of his mouth.

"And one table spoon of lemon juice!" Mabel cackled, "I thought you would have remembered you never received a decent coffee from me!"

He groaned, wanting to slap himself. He always fell for it, not matter what he did!

"Why did you have to poison it?" He mumbled.

"If I recall, the idea was that you burned off the extra calories as you ran around trying to get the flavour out of your mouth. Also, don't you feel so much more awake now? Admit it, you do!"

As she bounced on the chair slightly, he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed for long.

"Well, maybe I feel a _bit _more awake."

The young woman gave another innocent smile, still jumping around slightly.

"Pacifica gave you the day off, what do you want to do today?"

"Really? What for?"

"All the shenanigans from yesterday. After you broke up the riot complaining about the terrible popcorn single handedly, she figured you'd like the break."

Was that where he had gotten all of those aches and pains from?

"So, what are we going to do today?" She eagerly asked again.

"Well," He began, scratching his head. "I've been meaning to check up on your bank account and health coverage with you, all that wonderful boring stuff."

Surprisingly, Mabel replied;

"I've already taken care of the majority of it. I made sure to reclaim my account from- from him after I woke up. I'd like to look back in to my job though."

Now it was his turn to frown.

"But I've already taken care of that for you. Pacifica's been forcing a few of the citizens to run it for the good of the town."

"Then, what are we going to do?"

The familiar Mabel-like energy continued to course through her system as she repeated the question a few times. Finally, he gently pulled away the mug of safe coffee from her.

"No more coffee for you." He scolded, shaking a finger at her.

* * *

It took an hour or so, but she gradually calmed back down to her now usual self. The couple had called a truce, deciding that his day off didn't need to merit anything special. Even though the voice had faded away, Bill somehow knew that his other self was probably teasing him for his timidness and absolute inability to get closer to Mabel.

The young woman was curled up on the window seat in the living room. She had plucked a book from a shelf and was delighted to find out it was her copy of one of her favourite books. She was no longer creeped out by the fact that almost all of her possessions were stashed away here, it was now just the reminder they had been a relationship.

She was glad he had not been trying to push them back in to their engagement. If anything, he was either frightful shy, or breathing down her neck. Now that little snippets of memories and emotions were regularly returning to her, Mabel's old boisterous confidence, and fearless happiness came too. She was starting to wonder more about her relationship with Bill.

She couldn't bring herself to be afraid of him. The terror she had associated with him since she had been twelve was extinguished. His gaze was no longer piercing and uncomfortable, his voice did not drip with that venomous tone, the way he did everything no longer seemed to have some sort of diabolical purpose. There were days when the feeling returned, could it have to do with him calling her by the nick name she linked to his sinister tendencies?

Rather than feeling these emotions towards him, she found his stare held a warmer and comforting feeling, his voice had taken on a friendly overture. His actions just seemed human now. Well he was technically human after all.

It was unfamiliar, pleasant when she thought about it. It made her almost long for the company of someone else when he was gone.

Something caught Mabel's eye, and she peered out the large window. The very man she had just been wondering about was out on the front lawn, walking towards a shed that was off to the side. He wasn't in his uniform or his usual formal clothes, but track shorts and a t-shirt showing off the toned muscles in his arms.

Curiously now, she observed as he pulled out the bike he had brought home when his car had been trashed before coasting down the hill. Perhaps the tyres for his car had been replaced and he was going to get it? She returned to her reading.

She had gotten through a good portion of the chapter when he returned, sweating and breathless in the afternoon heat. Instead of going back inside, he pulled out a bottle of water, took a few sips, and went back in to the shed. This time, he came back with a jump rope. He skipped rapidly with an almost surreal speed before tossing it to the side.

Mabel gulped slightly as he pulled off his shirt, revealing the tight ropy muscles Mabel was surprised to see. He wasn't built buffly, more slim and wirey. The man began to practice push ups. Regular, modified, marine, and one handed were all completed with ease before he happened to look up at the window. He spotted Mabel, and froze, collapsing on his arms. A blush spread across his face as he realized she had been watching him. Mabel froze as well, wondering what either of them would do next.

Finally, he walked over to the window seat and tapped at the pane with a stick. He was grinning at her, so Mabel decided it was probably safe to open the window.

"Enjoying the view?" He called up to her.

"Yes actually, it's amazing how sculpted and rugged the landscape is from up here." She hinted subtly.

He blushed even more, now unsure about what to say.

"By chance did you do your police training with Mr. Poolcheck?"

He thought for a moment before a memory of the red faced, testosterone driven man came to him.

"The lifeguard at the local pool? For a little bit actually, why?"

"I figured the white coats would have come for him by now." Mabel shrugged.

"Nope."

They paused for a moment, but this silence was more friendly. Yet one could not deny that there was a certain tense air to it. Rubbing the back of his neck, the blond debated whether or not he should tell Mabel about how his tie had been unceremoniously returned to him.

_"Well I can't hide it. If she found out, she'd trust me even less!"_

"You know, this morning you looked like you were in a lot of pain. Are you sure you should be-" The woman stopped, now embarrassed.

The blonde instinctively placed a hand over the pocket his tie was hidden in. What did he dare tel her? The truth! A fraction? None?

_"Perhaps the most of it," _He reasoned with himself, _"I won't tell her about **him**."_

_"Who? Me?" _An innocent voice asked.

_"Yes you."_

_"So that means she won't know when I'm with her."_

_"Yes." _The man hissed slightly.

"Errr, did you hear what I asked?"

Her words snapped him out of his thoughts, and he sighed again, knowing this wouldn't be so easy to stomach.

"It's a long story."

* * *

Bill was not the only one to wake with more then painful circumstances. Sometime later in the afternoon of that same day, both scheemers found themselves sprawled out on the floor of the gift shop. The groans of agony from one waking up the other and visa versa. Rubbing the place where his had bruised his elbow not once, but twice, Gideon managed to say;

"That was some unfinished business, I can barely remember a thing."

"Really?" Dipper replied, "It feels clear as day to me."

Both grimaced as they took inventory of their wounds. Burns and bruises seemed to be the most predominant, and they both felt exhausted; Lungs heavy, breaths strained, tiny spurts of pain coursing through their muscles if they made the slightest movement.

In the end, they both wound up laying back down on the floor.

"Should we reschedule our plans for salvage till later?"

"Let's."

Both were silent for a while. Gideon was attempting to shake away the foggy feeling in his mind. It felt as if he were almost forgetting something. Like the actions of the past while were done by him, but not by choice...

"Gideon?" Dipper asked, cutting through the quiet.

"Yes?"

"You know French, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"What does-" He paused trying to recall the sound of the words. "J'adore serpents dans l'autum mean?"

The fraudulent psychic tried not to laugh, but couldn't help it. He burst out in snickers, kicking his feet slightly as he rolled across the floor. Dipper's face tinged red, and he wondered what he just had said.

"I-it's n-not the t-translation." The albino managed to gasp between laughs, "I-it's just the way you said it!"

"But what does it mean?" He said self consciencelly.

"It's just nonsense."

"So probably not real French?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Well probably not spoken by someone who knew French."

Dipper was quiet again, thinking something over. At the Wizard of Oz Day, something stood out there. A piece, a nagging detail at the back of his mind. The woman he had seen with Pacifica, dressed as the Good Witch, he thought it was strange at first; If he had recalled correctly, the wedding dress Mabel had bought looked like the one she was wearing. Perhaps it wasn't psychological, maybe she really had sounded like his sister when she wasn't just the hair colour, it was Mabel!

"Hidden in plain sight." He murmured.

Gideon looked at him confused.

"What?"

"Did you ever remember seeing a brunette dressed as the Good Witch?"

Thinking back to the dunk tank along with the first person to succeed, three times in a row, a memory clicked.

"White dress? Pretty curvy?"

"That's Mabel you're talking about." Dipper growled.

Gideon blanched, and struggled between trying to apologize and swallowing the fact that it could possibly be her. Dipper got off of the floor and then pulled his friend up as well. The Mystery Twin began to pace around the room, savagely muttering to himself.

How could she have been right there all along? True the demon had said she probably was, but where could she be hiding? She hated Bill, he had more than ensured it himself. The only person who came to mind would be Pacifica, and that was because Bill had said it could have been possible. Of course he hadn't wanted to trust anything the blond annoyance had told him, pain or not. It could be that he was right all along.

"Dipper." His friend gasped.

"What?!" He snapped in return.

Unsurprised by the tone he had used, the platinum-blond managed to say;

"Bill was at the fair."

"Gideon, stop speaking in riddles! I can't think clearly when you do that!"

"But, he was there, with her."

Seething now, Dipper strode over to him and shook his shoulders.

"What is it?!"

"She must have been with him!"

Dipper grabbed Gideon by the shirt collar and was about to ask what he was talking about again, when something caught his attention.

"Gideon, where's your tie?"


	15. The Things I do For Love!

**Whew, by this time next week, I'll be done with exams. Free, free! Until then, enjoy your does of adorable, courage the Cowardly Dog references, and hopeless crushes. Poor Gideon.**

**Disclaimer:I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Later that same day, a storm had pushed itself past the mountains. Steely dark clouds curled and stretched across the once blue sky, and a breeze was starting to pick up. It did little to move the humid air, but the summer heat began to cool down with the absence of the sun.

As what little light remained faded from behind the mountain range, Mabel sighed and pulled herself away from the window seat. Running a hand through her hair and working out a few knots, she decided a shower was in order for her.

The brunette softly strode past Bill, who was sleeping on his usual spot on the couch. He was totally drained by the time he had revealed to her that he had found his tie. She had let him be, seeing how exhausted he looked. Well, exhausted and cute with Waddles sleeping on his back.

Now standing in the warm spray of the shower, she couldn't help but smile as she thought about how close her pig and the man had gotten. But Mabel was still unsure how she felt about him facing off against her brother and Gideon. They still had control over him, and returning with a part of his powers. Should she be relieved that they had less chances to hurt him? Worried that he had regained some of his older strength? Upset he had gone and done it with out asking her what she thought? Maybe he didn't value her opinion. Perhaps he just thought she was still that silly, naïve, girl...

_The cold was always there for her..._

There was a sudden clap of thunder, and Mabel realized that the water had been running cold for a long time. She turned the knob off and pulled one of the fluffy yellow towels around her chest, and twisted another around her hair. Then, she slipped in to her pajamas and brushed her teeth.

The woman still wasn't all that tired after the fairly peaceful day, it was only 9:45 after all. She intended to read some more, but remembered she had left her book back in the living room. It was dark out now, the only light coming from the streaks of lightning that flashed every now and carefully tip toed past Bill, who remained asleep. Picking up her book from the cutioned seat, she stared out in to the almost inky darkness. Just as her eyes adjusted to the view outside, there was a crackle of lighting. For a moment after the awesome force of nature, all she saw was part of her reflection. Her eyes. At first she thought they were Dipper's, staring at her through the window, but it couldn't be possible. She had never realized how similar they had looked, even if his were grey...

This thought made her freeze. Dipper never had grey eyes, his were brown like her own. Unless he had been wearing contacts recently, they almost exactly matched Bill's...

"Mabel." A soft voice said behind her.

She felt her hair stand on end, and she turned to face the only other person in the room. Much to her surprise, he was still sleeping. Shifting on to his side, the blond muttered;

"No."

Waddles gave a slightly disgruntled oink as he slid off of his back, but fell back to sleep with in seconds. Still talking in his sleep, he unconsciously said;

"Stop it, I won't let you-"

Shifting a bit more, he mumbled in a darker tone;

"Or what?"

Unaware to Mabel, the man was arguing with himself, trying to keep the demon at bay. But his other self was insistent on getting his way and was giving him a run for his money.

"Sh-Shooting St-"

It sounded as if a breath had caught in his throat for a moment. He took in a choking sob of air, and a few tears streaked down his cheeks.

Still glued in place, Mabel had no idea what to do. To her, it just seemed like nightmares bothering him.

"Irony." She quietly snorted to herself.

"Mabel!" He cried out again.

Nightmares about her, she realized with a slight frown. The woman was unsure of why she did so next, but she went over to the couch and balance precariously on what little room there was left with him sprawled across it in a tangle of sheets.

Staring down at his trembling form, she was shocked to see such a contrast between him from the the rugged man that same morning, and the frightened one now. Like the day she had found him drunk out of his wits. Or the time before where he was injured and resting in the forest, his confidence and regal posture gone.

She took a tentative hand and pushed back the messy blond strands he would so rarely comb to the side or even bother to slick back. He shuddered in the slightest, but calmed down more. Carefully as not to wake him, she placed a hand on his cheek. She could feel tiny pricks of stubble under palm, and he was cold in a very unsettling way, but she let the warmth that was radiating from her hand spread to him.

Through the feeling of human contact, he had quieted down, and so she deemed it safe to return back to her room. Reluctantly drawing her hand back, she made a move to stand when at that exact moment, there was another roar of thunder and Bill jumped up, screaming. Well, he tried to jump up, but unaware of Mabel's presence fell, taking her with him.

The couple rolled a few inches before coming to a halt at the coffee table. Staring in to his eyes, Mabel swore she saw a flicker of absolute murder before it was replaced with his trademark confidence.

The young woman squirmed under his weight, strongly disliking the compromising position. Finally, the blond dryly said;

"That was a bit melodramatic wouldn't you say?"

"I wouldn't be able to tell you." She managed to reply.

"And why's that?" He smirked.

"Because you're sitting on my chest and I can't breath."

"Right." He muttered, rolling away from her.

He walked over to the large bay window looking out at the storm as to hide the mix of confusion, terror, and bashfulness on his face. But Mabel followed, not letting him disguise the blend of emotions that had over come him.

"You were dreaming." She stated plainly.

"Yes, I suppose I was."

"About me."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"How should I know?"

"Aren't you a dream demon?"

"I suppose so."

"So you do know, but you won't tell me."

"Yes."

"Why not lie?"

He turned to face the brunette, a stab of annoyance evident in his features.

"I told you already, I can not lie. I will not answer, I will twist my words. But I can not lie."

"Were you really unable to talk about Dipper's plans to me?"

"Only when he reinforces the obedience spell over me."

"So can you-"

"Dipper Pines is an arrogant bastard." He boredly said. "Tada!"

The couple stood in silence again, staring out at the storm. Bits of hail were starting to fall now, the balls of ice loudly pattering against the window panes. The lighting had distanced itself as the storm began to wind down, the norm for most mountainous climate.

Mabel trued analyzing the silence, trying to define how it felt to her, but she could form no definite conclusions. It was not quite friendly, but it was not hostile either. The blond seemed to be going through such a mix of emotions, it was something all on it's own. She decided how to summarize it when he suddenly said;

"Sleep with me."

Are you saying what I think you are?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like."

She was about to slap him, but he caught her hand. Rolling his eyes, he asked;

"Did I say have intercourse with me? I asked you to keep me company. "

"You and your way with words." She said through narrowed eyes.

"Why thank you." He replied brightly.

"You'll have to push Waddles off the couch if we're going to be able to sleep on the couch. " She tried to distract.

"Easy." He confidently proclaimed.

Walking back to the couch, he tried to push Waddles off of it, but he was too heavy. He tried to wake up the pig, but he would have none of his antics. He squealed and clamped on to the Yellow Man's hand just hard enough to explain how there was no way he was getting out of his spot. Shaking his hand and looking down at the red marks on his hand, Bill sheepishly turned to the woman and asked;

"Would you be interested in camping out on the floor with me?"

"No."

She grinned at his plight, and walked back to her room. The blond followed behind her and asked;

"Could I camp out with you then?"

He found the door close in his face.

"Could I get a blanket then?" He asked hopefully.

The light in the room turned off.

"A pillow?"

"Goodnight!" Mabel cheerfully called to him in a sing song voice.

"Something?" He asked pitifully.

"Sweet dreams!"

He sighed and laid down on the carpeted floor in front of the bedroom door. Sighing, he turned on his side and rested his head on his hands. The things he did for love!

* * *

The next morning, Mabel felt slightly less conflicted. She stretched and got up, smiling a bit. She was going to resume her usual routine of getting her breakfast, and opened the door. She was surprised to see a dozing Bill outside of the door.

"You have _two _guest rooms you know." She huffed, nudging him with his food.

"But then I'd have to wash extra bed sheets." He mumbled in to the carpet.

"You'd really rather sleep on the floor then do that?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

Mabel was suddenly caught between wanting to gasp or laugh as a memory came back to her.

_Mabel was in their bedroom, brushing out her hair as she changed. Just as she was wriggling out of her top, Bill strode in to the room with only a towel around his waist. Caught by surprise, he stood there gaping at her. Before his grip could slacken on the towel, Mabel screamed and shoved him out of the bedroom._

_"Errr, Mabel." He began, knocking on the door._

_"Go away!" _

_"Come on Mabel, open up!"_

_"No!"_

_The blond gave an exasperated sigh and knocked on the door again._

_"Why can't I come in? I need sleep too you know!"_

_"Too bad!"_

_"Come on Mabel , what's wrong?"_

_"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" She screeched through the door. "You standing here gawking at my chest is what's wrong!"_

_"I wasn't gawking!" He tried to defend, "I was just caught by surprise. A pleasant one."_

_The woman he loved seemed to be suppressing a firestorm of words, so he tried to make amends._

_"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were getting changed."_

_"A likely story."_

_"I was in the shower you know."_

_"I know."_

_"Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you shirtless before, is this really so different?"_

_This, was exactly the wrong thing to say. Slowly, every so slowly, Mabel opened the bedroom door. She fixed him with a steely glare that looked exactly like Stan's when he found out they were engaged. Her eyes sparkled with a dark malice he had seen before and had vowed to never be on the receiving end of. With out so much as blinking, let alone breaking eye contact, Mabel snarled;_

_"You can sleep on the floor tonight. Not the couch, not in the guest rooms, the floor."_

_"But Mabel-"_

_"Waddles, sic 'im."_

_Now to most, these words would seem hilarious. Mabel's chubby and affable pig, attacking someone? The worst he could possibly do was probably chew on someone's pant leg. Bill was proven wrong as the pig came charging through the door at him, squealing as he threw his over fifty pounds at the man._

_Dazed, the man looked up at the pig, who was staring down at him with a watchful look. But, after deciding the man probably wasn't going to be trying something any time soon, went back to the door and oinked._

_"If you're going to act like a pig, you can sleep with them too." She announced to him._

_Seeing as Mabel would not let either of them in to the room, both made themselves comfortable as they could be on the floor. The things they did for love!_

* * *

"The things I do for love!" Gideon sighed to himself.

Staring up at the falling apart residence that was what could be considered his childhood home, he sighed once more before locking up. The albino turned to the street just on time to see his regular bus whiz past him. Well, it looked like he was walking today.

Heading down the sidewalk, Gideon started to revise what it was he and Dipper would be doing that day. Rather then working on the gateway at night like they normally would (So no one would wonder where they were or came calling for them through out the day.) ,they would dig out any crucial parts of the mines that had been caved in with their latest failure.

There was nothing they could do about Bill stealing back his tie. Dipper admitted this, still fuming, and he could not collect his thoughts. Rather then plan a way to recover the tie, they would wait until later to do so. Once that had been fixed (By fixed, that meant they would do it later.) they would continue with their endeavour in finding Mabel.

He had to hand it to Stanford, it was smart of him to leave journal 3 to Mabel. Gideon would bet his hair that his old business rival realized that Dipper was attached to the book, while Mabel was less interested with it. Even if she had found it first, Mabel wasn't the type to obsess over mysteries and the supernatural like her brother.

Once they found Mabel again, they would keep her until she remembered where she had hidden the journal, and chose to divulge it's location. Then, they would...

What would they do to her? Surely she would go back to Bill, they would band against them. Stop their plans for their power. Something told him Bill wouldn't hesitate to do worse then kill him for their treatment of Mabel. So, it was obvious they couldn't let go of her, so they would have to...

The albino shivered at the notation. Dipper would not go that far, he could never... dispose of Mabel. Right? He had become colder over the years of course, but that was the price of the ultimate power. Useless ties needed to be severed, and she would only hinder their progress.

_"But what if I become the useless tie? Dipper would never, never-"_

"Gideon! There you are!" Dipper called to him as he walked on to the Shack's property. "What happened to you?!"

_"No, it could never happen." _He reassured himself, hearing the concerned tone in his voice.

"I missed the bus. I'm still not used to sleeping like a normal person."

Stifling a yawn, the Mystery Twin said;

"Same here."

They were quiet for a moment, before Gideon wondered aloud;

"What is going to Mabel after she..."

Dipper was silent for a moment. He had never though his over either. The man was unsure on what they should do, but a dark voice seemed to say to him;

_"Dispose of her, teach her a lesson about why she should have never crossed you. Let her discover what will happen to everyone else who ever decides to wrong us."_

_"N-no! I could never-"_

_"Yes. You have to, and will. And if you won't, I will."_

Gritting his teeth as to not reveal to the man what was running through his mind, he changed the subject.

"I was thinking we should leave the excavation until later."

"Why?"

"Oh there you are Dipper!"

Just then, Candy Chiu, an old friend of Mabel's walked out of the Shack. She seemed a bit oddly dressed, with a scarf and sweater, but it was her usual style. She smiled and winked at Dipper, but blushed a little as she remembered Gideon was there.

"Well, I was just going to get going then." The raven haired woman said in her lilting English.

Gideon felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. That explained why he had been busy last night. The fraudulent psychic did not feel any better as Dipper flashed her a smile ("A dazzling smile. " Thought Gideon) and waved.

"Ok, see you... Later?" He finished hopefully.

The woman blushed more evidently and waved back. Then, she left back in the direction of town. Once she was out of ear shot, Gideon let out a breath and said;

"So that's why you wanted to-"

Dipper coughed, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"It wasn't anything like... that."

"Oh really?" He asked, a note of jealousy in his voice.

The man shrugged.

"She was Mabel's friend and she always had a hopeless crush on me."

_"She's not the only one." _The platinum-blond thought to himself. To Dipper, he said;

"So you flirted a bit and found out something?"

"Flirted yes, information, no. It was painful really, I've never really had a soft spot for people with dark hair. I prefer blondes really."

"So you don't-"

Dipper snorted and rolled his eyes. Resting a hand on his friend's shoulder, he finished;

"Not in a million years. Anyways, let's go out for breakfast and we'll discuss what to do next."

He felt his heart leap at the suggestion, gut cooly replied;

"All right then."

* * *

The duo quickly sprinted to the diner to avoid the morning rush and took a booth farther away from one of the windows. Lazy Susan had served then the diner's famous coffee, and brought their orders shortly after. Dipper was staring at Gideon's plate for what ever reason. It was not his usual tunnel vision, but he was concentrating on the food for some reason. Gideon started to feel a bit self conscious as his friend had not so much as glanced at his own. After a few more tense seconds, he snapped.

"What?"

Dipper paused, blinking a moment to snap out of his daze.

"I haven't had any bacon since Mabel first got Waddles."

The man chukled, knowing how Mabel would react to his consumption of the pork based food.

"Well if I recall, she isn't here right now."

"Could I have some?" Dipper pleaded.

The albino groaned at the adorable expression his companion wore. While Dipper had grown more stalky as he progressed through his teenage years, he still had his matching puppy eyes that looked so much like Mabel's. Except for the colour that was... But even he had his limits to how much he was willing to do for him!

"Pleeeeease?" He stretched.

"All right, take some." He sighed.

Munching on the crispy and salty bacon, Dipper was quiet for a moment. He savoured the amazing taste for a moment, reminded of what he had been missing out thanks to Mabel all these years. Rather then talk while eating, Dipper ate his French toast and Gideon did the same with his toast and eggs Benedict.

"So..."

"So..."

"Maybe we should see what Stan knows."

"Hmmm. Well I wanted to talk with McGucket first, I'm the only one who knows how to get through to him."

"True, true. But we'd have to find him first. He abandoned his old rookery in the dump. We already know where Stan is, and he's slightly less-"

Dipper whistled and made the crazy action with his finger.

"Does Stan know what we're doing though?"

Both were silent a moment.

_"It doesn't matter! Stan has his secrets, and we need to find out. Tell him so!"_

_"But his point is valid."_

_"Tell him."_

_"I don't want to!"_

_"TELL HIM!"_

"There's nothing to worry about on that part, he hasn't been living in Gravity Falls for the past six months."

His friend sighed. Dipper got his way yet again.

"I suppose we could check up on Stan first."


	16. Subtetly, It's Not My Forté

**A small note, one named OC in this chapter, she'll never be used in anything else, I just needed a character. Don't count on her reappearance. Also, is any one a fan of _Caesar _salad out there?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

Dipper pulled up on to the perfectly paved driveway, a contrast to the norm of Gravity Falls. Gideon would stay in the car while he went to go talk to Stan, so the man was not suspicious of the questions that he would be asking. Dipper stepped out of Stan's maroon El Diablo and strode up the stone pathway to the old house.

The wood on the floor creaked slightly when he walked across it to the large white door. Pressing a doorbell, a shrill chime ran through the house, and before the sound could fade, an employee opened the door. Dipper was blown over by how it was possible to wear so much pink and was rendered momentarily speechless. After an awkward pause, the young man cleared his throat and began;

"I'm here to see-"

"Stanford Pines?" She finished.

"H-how did y-you k-know that?"

She gave a shrill laugh before abruptly stopping. He flinched as she did.

"Stan says he doesn't want any visitors at the moment."

"Oh really?" He challenged. "Well tell Stan that-"

She fixed him with her unfocused stare and gave an even larger grin.

"I'm sorry but-"

Just then, two men walked around the corner of the hall, talking about something. Both froze as they saw who was standing at the door. Stan glared at his great-nephew from behind the woman's back, and Bill rolled his eyes. They probably would have continued to walk if not for the scary employee saying;

"Oh there you are Stan! This young man is here to see you!"

Stan rolled his eyes as well and said;

"Let him in."

The woman did so before disappearing back in to the shadows of the house, neon pink and all. Before Dipper could say anything, Stan wacked him on the head with his cane that was topped with an eight ball.

"Hey!" Dipper yelped, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"What did ya' think it was for? It's been six, seven months now!"

"Grunkle Stan I've been busy!"

"Oh I know what you've been busy with mister!" He grey haired man snapped. "I can't belive you'd do that to Mabel, your own sister! And have you even been running the Shack? And you fired Soos as well! If Bill would let me I'd strangle you! But I think he's been counting on doing so himself!"

"Stan-" He tried to amend.

"That's Mr. Pines to you bucco!"

"But Grunkle Stan-"

"It's Mr. Pines. Only my great-niece and great-nephew in-law can call me that. And you're neither!"

Anger and shock registered on the man's face. For a moment his eyes flickered back to their normal hue before becoming silvery-grey again. Now more furious than ever, Dipper turned his back on the two men and stormed back out to the car. Once Stan was certain Dipper was out of ear shot, he growled to Bill;

"Just because I called you my great-nephew in-law, it doesn't mean-"

"You like me any more." Bill finished,speaking for the first time that encounter. "Yes, I know. You have your soulless tough guy reputation to up keep, I know Stan."

"Good." He said firmly. "I'm glad you understand... kiddo."

While Stan and Bill resumed their conversation outside, Dipper walked back to the air with a defeated air. He opened the driver's door and asked Gideon;

"Can you drive the way back? I can't concentrate."

The albino shrugged and took they keys, switching spots with his were silent as they pulled out of the drive. Dipper did not even bother to buckle his seat-belt, and instead sat on the seat with his knees drawn up to his chin, and his face resting in his hands. Gideon, still concentrating on the tricky navigation through the mountain roads mustered the nerve to ask;

"What happened?"

Dipper was quiet a moment before softly replying;

"Stan just disowned me."

"Oh... Dipper I'm so sorry."

The young man didn't reply as he tried to fight back his emotions.

_"First Mabel, now Stan as well?!"_

_"Stop crying you wimp, they were in our way anyways!"_

_"But I never wanted to h-hurt either of them!"_

_"But I never wanted to h-hurt either of them!" _The voice mocked. _"Well clearly you didn't do a good job at it did you?"_

_"I t-tried!"_

_"And you failed. You see why I'm the one in charge now?" _

_"Because you're not me! You're too cold and uncaring, tunnel visioned, and self centered!"_

The voice chuckled before replying;

_"No Dipper Pines, I am you. Every last bit of the worst parts of you, magnified to ultimate proportions. "_

_"Y-you won't be able to last forever! He'll get his hat back and the you'll rue the day!"_

_"Oh we'll see about that, we'll see..."_

* * *

Mabel was absent mindedly petting Waddles when Bill returned from work. Opening the door in an exaggerated fashion and sweeping off his hat (The police officer's one that was.) he called;

"Honey I'm ho-o-ome!"

"Call me honey again and there'll be no home left for you return to." Mabel chipperly answered.

Bending over to the couch where she was sitting, he grinned at her.

"Aww, can't you play along?"

"Fine." She huffed, albeit amiably."How was your day, _munchkin?"_

"It was ok... _Dearest."_

They both made faces at the terrible endearments. The blond then somersaulted on to the couch, landing with his head in her lap. Before Mabel could protest, he gave a charming smile and said;

"By the way, Stan gives his love. Do I suppose that merits a-"

"Handshake." Mabel finished. "It merits a handshake."

Rather than protest, he let Mabel shake his hand.

"How was he?"

"Same old Stan. But you should have seen him when Dipper-" He abruptly bit his tongue, trying to ignore the patronizing look bearing down on him now.

"When D-Dipper what?" She asked quietly.

Trying to wriggle away from her now, he airily said;

"Oh nothing!"

She pinned his shoulders in place before he could get very far and gave him a pleading look.

"Look," He began, "The creep just happened to swing by, Stan wacked him with his cane and figuratively disowned him."

Mabel gasped and covered her mouth. She knew what Dipper had been doing was awful, but she still felt terrible for her brother. They were once the Mystery Twins, and Stan cutting him off like that. It just hurt her. How had he taken it? Was he cold, so unfeeling like when he had slapped her? Or was he angry? Something told her that there was no way he would truly be upset in a sad sense over it.

"Mabel, are you ok?" The man asked her.

She nodded slightly and muttered;

"I just wasn't expecting..."

"Yes, I know what you mean." He soothed, trying to prevent her from crying.

He sat up now and patted her back, letting her hold back the tears. Suddenly, a voice in his head was saying;

_"Hey blondie! Now's your chance to ask Shooting Star to dinner!"_

_"What?! No! That's completely tactless! She'll think I don't care about her feelings!"_

_"That will never happen. I promise."_

_"That's not very reassuring, but I'll do it."_

Taking a deep breath, he worked up the nerves to ask. He was reminded of the first time he had asked her to dinner, but had no time to reminisce.

"Mabel, I know this may seem like a sort of weird time to ask this. But would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

A grin shone through her once cloudy expression and she said;

Sure! It's a date! Date as in time because well you know..." the brunette blushed slightly.

"Actually, I was wondering if it could be a errr... date, date."

"Sure! Just between friends?"

"No, as in an actual-"

_Ding, dong!_

Not even bothering to wait for them to open the door, Pacifica waltzed in Candy, Grenda, and another raven-haired woman in tow. Pointing a glittery pink and green nail at Mabel, the mayor announced;

"We have come for Mabel!"

"Why?" Bill asked, annoyed at the interruption.

"She," Pacifica pointed at Mabel again, "Needs more social interaction with other women her age! So we have come to recruit her for a ladies night out!"

"Really?!" Mabel squeaked, jumping up from her spot. "What are the plans?"

Candy unrolled a long list that was almost Dipper-like. It made her heart ached for a moment, but it was replaced with their enthusiasm in a snap.

"The three m's. Munchies, as in eating dinner, movies as in rom coms at Pacifica's, and then makeovers."

"Eee! I'm in!"

Before the blond could protest, she had raced through the house collecting her things in an over night bag before leaping down the steps. All of them were giggling like crazy as they drove off in Pacifica's convertible. Waddles looked up at him and gave the pig equivalent of a shrug.

"Ah haha!" A voice behind him laughed, "You should have seen your face! Comedy gold!"

The demon pulled out a camera from no where and snapped a picture. Dazed by the flash bulb, he stumbled around a second before asking;

"What do you want?"

His mirror image floated in the air developing the film despite it not being dark.

"I was going to go out to dinner with her instead if you, but it seems neither of us are now."

The man sighed and flopped back down on the couch. He tried to blow the hair out of his eyes, but it would not move.

"I can tell."

The demon took the reels of film and placed the negatives in a certain vat of chemicals before replying;

"Well, there's always next time."

"How can you be so relaxed about this?"

"Because I always get what I want in the end." It informed him, switching the reels of film with the next batch. "Besides, the conversation between you two was becoming awkward anyways. Stop being so sweet or else she'll start to see you as a friend."

The officer crossed his arms and pouted slightly.

"I'm not sweet! I'm just-"

"Soft? Over bearing? A complete Teddy Bear?" He suggested.

"Caring. I was going to say caring."

"You sound like a line out of a bad romance novel."

"As if you're any better!"

Inspecting the other batch, his mirror image paused before saying;

"No, I suppose I'm not."

"You suppose?!"

"No, no, I'm sure of it."

"That's it?!"

"Yes that's It. What do you want me to say? That I won't hurt her? That I'd stop everything for her?"

He glared down at his inferior, more human self. Pulling out the picture, he inspected it with a smirk playing across his features.

"That one's a keeper!" He smirked, tucking it in to his jacket pocket.

Curiously, the man looked up the him.

"Let me see!"

The demon handed him the picture and laughed to himself;

"Too bad you can't develop film with out a dark room!"

He cackled to himself, kicking his feet in the air. The officer just regarded the blank photo paper with mild exasperation. He tossed the worthless scrap of paper up in the air and snapped his fingers. The paper abruptly caught on fire before dissolving in to ashes and scattering in to dust.

"Well, that was dramatic. Cheer up, it's not the end of the world. She'll be back eventually. Until then I'll hang with you."

"But I don't want to spend time with you."

The demon stopped floating and walked over to his other self. Before he could stop him, he had already slipped back in to his mind once again.

"Well, I don't think you really have much choice on the matter."

* * *

"Truth, or truth?" Pacifica asked Mabel.

All of the other women pretended to gasp as if this was dramatic in the least. They were spread across the young woman's room in the Northwest mansion, and had been acting as if they were teenagers again rather than grown women, pacifica had ordered some of the servants to prepare for the small encourtage. Pillows and bowls of various snack foods were spread over the room. There was a stack of movies by her T.V. and a huge collection of nail polish spread across the sink in her bathroom.

It had been all sheer bliss the time, enjoying the gorging on food, make up experiments, and various movies. It was two in the morning and all five of then were still going strong. Mabel had not felt like she had had this much in in years, or at least since the time she had spent at the Wizard of Oz Day fair with Bill.

Candy and Grenda had no real qualms with Mabel not talking to them sooner. As it turned out, neither of them lived in Gravity Falls, so Mabel was allowed to feel slightly less guilty.

Pepper, Pacifica's girlfriend had not talked much through out the night, but when ever she did, it was sure to bring a round of laughs from them. Mabel felt slightly uncomfortable around the dark haired woman. She figured it was still some of her lingering nervousness around strangers. She was fine with Pacifica and Bill, but still shy around others.

She would later discovered why the woman was so unsettling. As Candy and Grenda turned back to the dated rom com playing, Mabel answered;

"Truth."

Both women faked dramatic gasps again.

"What's your relationship status with everyone's favourite demon?" The blonde asked devilishly.

Mabel nearly spat out her Pitt Cola.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She tried to deny.

"Mabel please give me more credit than that. I've lived in Gravity Falls all of my life, you think I haven't noticed all the crazy stuff in the woods?! My girlfriend's a vampire for crying out loud!"

She curiously turned to Pepper, who flashed her abnormally pointed canines.

"It iz true yes." She answered in her slightly musical French accented English. "Anyways, blondie. Are you two, friends with benefits as you Americans call it?"

For the second time in the past thirty seconds, Mabel nearly spat out her pop.

"Wha- No! There is no way I'd ever ya' know! With him! We're just friends!"

"With benefits." Pepper added.

"No! We're not doing any of that! Come to think of it! I don't even think I can call him my friend..."

Pacifica frowned slightly.

"Why's that?"

Mabel gave her a look that read;

_"Seriously?"_

"Well for starters," She listed on her now manicured hands, "He pretty much kidnapped me, stole all of my belongings, and Waddles."

Through a mouthful of chips Pacifica replied;

"He didn't steal your stuff, you guys were living together. I remember him complaining about his back after lifting all those crates with your sweaters in them. And there actually is a police report registered with you and your circumstances as well. Should anyone ever request to see the file, they'd know where you were. It's not illegal, just stretching the rules a bit."

Mabel stole the bowl of chips from her friend and began to eat them herself as she tried to formulate what she was trying to explain to them.

"Well, there's just something that's sort of been bothering me in the back of my mind. I think I'm starting to like him, but I'm still nervous concerning our relationship. I know he broke up with me right after he saw we had no memory of what we had. But after I do get it back, is he going to expect me to just go back to our original plans? And what do I say then if I don't want to be with him? I can't just go ; Oh thanks for saving me from my crazy brother, I'm just going to move away from Gravity Falls forever."

"You're not going to just leave Gravity Falls forever are you?" Pacifica asked skeptically.

The brunette shook her head and sighed.

"I don't know. What am I supposed to do here? I've lost Dipper, I'd have Bill doing who knows what..."

"But what are you going to do on your own Mabel? I know we've all made progress with your shyness, but could you really just thrust yourself in to a situation with strangers and hope for the best."

Again she sighed.

"I don't even know any more, and frankly I don't care."

The brunette yawned and began to curl up on the floor.

"I think I'll just...go to... sleep... now."

Pacifica smiled slight and shrugged her shoulders. Who would have figured that Mabel, the true Party Queen would be first to pass out?

* * *

Gideon dropped Dipper back off at the Shack and walked home from there.

Dipper absently went to Stan's office and unlocked the door with a scraping of keys. He walked over to the desk and carefully tapped and poked several places in the desk before the secret compartment sprang open.

Carefully, he pulled out the stove pipe top hat with a yellow band of silk tied around the base. The hatred and anger in Dipper's chest swelled. He threw it to the ground and it abruptly faded away. Shivering, Dipper felt some normality and control return to his brain.

He had to find Mabel, warn her what was happening to him. But it hurt so much... He had to move.

_"Get up, get up Dipper!" _He told himself, _"You need to got tell Mabel before it's too late! You can't let her get any more hurt!"_

The twin tried to get to his feet, but his knees were too shaky. He couldn't he couldn't do it... If he hadn't been able to keep his sister safe before, how could he now? Slowly, he found himself curling in to a ball on the floor under Stan's's ancient desk. Rocking back and forth under the desk, he began to desperately whisper to himself.

_"I need to find Mabel, I need to save Mabel. I need to find Mabel, I need to save Mabel. I need to find Mabel, I need to save Mabel. I need to find Mabel, I need to save Mabel. I need to find Mabel, I need to save Mabel. I need to find to find Mabel, I need to save Mabel."_

"I, I-I can't."

_**Mllo Afmmo...**_


End file.
